the flow of time

Ellis has formed his own theory about what the universe and time must be like. In 2006 he began to formulate his own theory on time and the Universe. The theory he formulated is based on quantum physics rather than relativity, as Einstein’s theory is based on.

“A strange fact about quantum physics is that indeterminate future outcomes are seemingly governed by probabilities in the present. Quantum objects exist in "superpositions" of more than one state until such time as we measure them, when they adopt one or other of their possible forms. The most notorious illustration is Schrödinger's cat: locked in a box with a vial of poison whose seal may or may not be intact, it is simultaneously dead and alive -- until you open the box, when it is most definitely one or the other.”

Ellis says that quantum physics allows for an objectively defined present. The present, in this theory, is the boundary between what our experiments have determined and what remains to be discovered. Ellis says we live on the edge of a “growing block universe”. The surface is what we call the present that leads us one moment as a time as quantum measurements are made. Ellis feels that relativity can also define “now”. He says that Einstein’s theory of relativity is a full view of space-time and that space-time is warped by the presence of gravity. Ellis theorizes that “If we gathered enough data and had a big enough computer, we might take account of all the space-time distortions of all the galaxies, black holes and other matter in the universe to calculate a 3D surface on which each point is exactly the same age as the point where we are.” According to Ellis “Space-time is defined up to then and not beyond,” which means that the future is not set in stone...

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..., and without any name, other than duration-which is relative, apparent and a form of “time” that is sensible. Time in nature does not care how humans define or interpret it. We know that time cannot be “measured” because there is nothing of value to measure, but we know that the earth continues to spin and the sun continues to set and rise, and as humans we have turned those truths about the universe into measurable natural systems that we use to help us function as a society. The beauty of being human is that we can think, conceptualize and create. Mathematically, psychologically, and philosophically time has always been a subject of interest, and though it can be difficult to define and understand it is always around us in the form of a concept. Our society would function completely different without the subjective and objective forms of time we use every day.