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There Is No Single Instant In Time

tekkieRich writes "Some interesting news from the world of physics. Supposedly, in this paper, the author answers some of the major paradoxes (achilles vs. the turtle and Zeno) concerning our understanding of time. 'Impressed with the work is Princeton physics great, and collaborator of both Albert Einstein and Richard Feynman, John Wheeler, who said he admired Lynds' "boldness," while noting that it had often been individuals Lynds' age that "had pushed the frontiers of physics forward in the past."'"

4 of 672 comments (clear)

  1. At first by spudchucker · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    when I saw the photo on the web page, I thought he was hitting a bong!

  2. This kid has actually proven Barnum's Conjecture, by Mordant · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    "There's a sucker born every minute." ;>

  3. Help Me!!! by stikves · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    [offtopic]

    I'm shocked with the replies to this article. Yes, I haven't read them all, but all the ones I've seen are offtopic.

    How can a moderator work in this environment?

    [/offtopic]

  4. Full circle by CrazyJim0 · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I viewed Zeno of Elea's problem, as the ability of a boy to become a man, and a man to guide his child. Most people, when they are young can understand what good is supposed to be in theory. Then as the boy meets people, he sees what life is, and may show weakness at some moments, and almost lose sight of his core views. To come full circle, is to understand all the situations, for all people. But I view Zeno's argument that he's trying to say that you can't know every single situation for every single man, simply because you haven't been on every step.

    I argue that a man with an imperfect view can still form perceptions of his child because the first step is understanding the circle, and estimating where the child would be in relation to the man's previous experience. The key is that culture changes with time, so the problem is even more complex. The circle is not stationary, but moves with the flow of culture. Much like Ying and Yang shows that good and evil flow, the cultures of the world are in a steady flux. A man must watch not only understand the circle that he's been through, but also the complex path his child is taking.

    What I find interesting is that how few men existed then, before we crowded each other. Few men existed, yet you have philosophies that lasted millenia and can be interpreted many ways. Today, there's more men than ever, and we're writing history, and directing the path of culture. We have an educated poor which was heatedly argued against in the early 1900's. Back in early civilization, we had invaders like Gengis Khan, so the defense industry was born. Today, there are no invaders, but the defense industry doesn't want to die. Then if you look at individual cultures, everyone goes through change. The danger of it all is forming your own personal self when picking and chosing cultures.