On-Time Travelling or Bending? The Clock is Ticking.

This from James Roberts, professor of philosophy at U of T:


“… the phenomenon of the passage of time, that feeling that you have that time is actually passing. There are some terrific arguments to show that this is a kind of illusion. That.....things that happen in this great block universe but that there is no such thing as the passage of time."

Isaac Newton also believed that there was no such thing as time; only a sequence of events.
(http://www.thestar.com/opinion/article/754694--torch-relay-illuminates-debate-on-journalism)


Really? If only.

If time didn't pass, where, exactly, did the five hours go as I waited to see my spine surgeon? I read, went for a walk, discussed the merits of the Canadian health care system vs the American one, defended communist Canada while being called a socialist, sat, went for a walk, drank copious amounts of water, watched CNN, day-dreamed (on matters other than time), waited in line to relieve myself of the contents I had consumed, and walked again. Did I mention my specialist was in Buffalo? Was that an illusion?

Or Is it possible for a roomful of people to share the exact same illusion at the very same time, as we wait patiently for my brother to show up at yet another family function? Would that same illusion come complete with chanting stomachs, 3 tired and testy boys climbing around and through each other, a game of bingo, the butter congealing around another cooling dish, playing a game of using the remote to mute each of those 3 tired and testy boys, and finally the call at 2:00 p.m. from that said brother, announcing he was ready to be picked up at the Go-Train station, a good two hours after we were supposed to have lunch.

How about when it's five minutes to go before the movie starts, and you're freezing standing outside on an arse-numbing, frightfully cold Canadian day, because you volunteered to pick up the tickets for your brother? The movie theatre manager must have missed the part about time not passing us by; by the time we made it into the theatre, planting what remained of our arses in neck-stretching seats, the rest of the audience had already witnessed the first 15 minutes of the movie. It just an illusion!

Surely you have one of these time-benders in your family or circle of friends? Oblivious about other people's time, they manage to live on a different time zone, yet within the same city. For whom a quick mental math exercise must be done before you extend an invitation: for my brother Steve, its a full 2 hours before the actual time you are expecting him. In winter, add another 1/2 hour. On Sundays, post-Saturday evening celebrations, yet another 1/2 hour, adding up to a full 3 hours for those who are still counting.

On a celebratory note, Steve was actually on time for one important event during his lifetime; his birth. It was a pre-planned cesarean, after all. I love you anyway, bro.