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Single Idea 19948

[filed under theme 27. Natural Reality / C. Space / 6. Space-Time ]

Full Idea

Our hunt for the most basic ingredients of reality has left us muddled about the status of time. One culprit for this was Einstein, whose theory of general relativity merged time with space.

Gist of Idea

Einstein's merging of time with space has left us confused about the nature of time

Source

New Scientist writers (New Scientist articles [2013], 2017.02.04)

Book Ref

-: 'New Scientist magazine' [ 2013], p.31


The 16 ideas with the same theme [relative space and time, treated as one system]:

Space alone, and time alone, will fade away, and only their union has an independent reality [Minkowski]
Space-time arises from the connection between measurements of space and of time [Einstein, by Farmelo]
We can't think of space-time as empty and propertyless, and it seems to be a substratum [Martin,CB]
Space-time is indeterminate foam over short distances [Close]
We distinguish time from space, because it passes, and it has a unique present moment [Le Poidevin]
Time, as it appears in standard modern science, is bad verificationist metaphysics [Smith,Q, by Le Poidevin]
Space is 3D and lacks a direction; time seems connected to causation [Sider]
The central question in the philosophy of time is: How alike are time and space? [Sider]
Modern metaphysicians tend to think space-time points are more fundamental than space-time regions [Hawthorne]
Spacetime may well be emergent, rather than basic [Ladyman/Ross]
If spacetime is substantial, what is the substance? [Ladyman/Ross]
The universe expands, so space-time is enlarging [Bardon]
Relativity makes time and space jointly basic; quantum theory splits them, and prioritises time [New Sci.]
Space-time may be a geometrical manifestation of quantum entanglement [New Sci.]
Einstein's merging of time with space has left us confused about the nature of time [New Sci.]
In relativity space and time depend on one's motion, but spacetime gives an invariant metric [Baron/Miller]