The Order of Time – by Carlo Rovelli

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To remember

• time =/= exist as a fundamental feature of the universe
• time =/= unified; i.e. no global, universal rate of time. =/= independent/absolute
• world bereft of ‘time’
• time = simply change = feature of universe, just not a universal, or fundamental, one.
• time ‘flows’ from past to future
• time = continuous
• no universal ‘now’
• Planck time = smallest temporal division possible
• for things to exist = must persist in time

Absurd Being

What is time? Why does it have a direction? Is it an illusion? Luckily for us, theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli, in his excellent book The Order of Time, has answered these questions… or if that’s too bold a claim, at least given us a nice head start on them. His position on time essentially confirms what phenomenologists like Husserl, Heidegger, and Sartre have had to say on the subject while also offering a physical explanation for how it arises. It is this last feature that really makes the book stand out. When I read through this, I felt like a profound secret had suddenly been revealed, as if a portion of the universe had suddenly and satisfactorily clicked into place. In this article, I plan to walk through Rovelli’s book and hopefully give you that same hit.

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