The fluid nature of time
Dave Truss,
Daily-Ink,
Dec 10, 2019
Time isn't real. Or, perhaps I should say, insofar as time is real, it is nothing like what we think it is. Oh, I know I have cited J.E. McTaggert on this in the past. But it's not just a question of ontology. As a recent BBC report makes clear, we create the past (and use much the same tools to create the future). "As we lay down memories, we alter them to make sense of what's happened. Every time we recall a memory, we reconstruct the events in our mind and even change them to fit in." Our memories aren't a recording of past events. Rather, they're a resource we create in order to predict the future. That's why our memories are selective, creative, and imaginative. So what should we say in response to Dave Truss here? Time doesn't pass faster or slower depending on age. It's your perspective that's altering that perception. A fear of loss, perhaps, that makes each moment seem as though it's fleeting.
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