Is time an illusion: If so, how do we prove it?

I don’t know about you, but recently I’ve been finding it almost impossible to go to all of my lectures – especially since it’s a two kilometre walk from my accommodation in Sherbourne to Gibbet Hill. At the time of writing this article I have in fact skipped two days’ worth of lectures within four days.   

So, since I’m being inundated with messages from my coursemates wondering why I’m late to the day’s lectures, I would instead like to propose that I’m not late at all. In fact, the concept of being late is in fact an illusion by Big Time™ and I’m here to prove it to you, with both philosophical logic and quantum physics.   

Now, you may have heard plenty of people in the social science’s building claim that ‘time is a social construct’ (and to them I say social science isn’t a real science). But according to an argument popularised by English philosopher J.M.E. McTaggart known as  ‘The Unreality of Time’ it is in fact entirely possible to prove that time is simply illogical by using, well, logic. 

Time is a measure of change, and that any device used to measure time (like that newest generation apple watch your rich friend keeps casually flaunting in your face) relies on change

McTaggart argues that time is a measure of change, and that any device used to measure time (like that newest generation apple watch your rich friend keeps casually flaunting in your face) relies on change. In this case the ‘ticks’ or movement of the hands are a ‘change’. The problem here is that you need time in order to measure time. Simply put, the clock needs the time in which to move the hands on its face. Due to the circularity of this it defies logic.   

But if discussions of logic and circularity like this seems fairly trite and ridiculous because of course time is real then I would like to introduce you, dear reader, to the Page-Wootters mechanism.    

In 1983, two physicists (Don Page and William Wootters) were inspired by Einstein’s theory of relativity to propose their own theory of time. And like their idol they also imagined the entire universe as just one stationary object. But not a nice simple object like that bar of Co-op chocolate I’ve been trying to give up for Lent.  

The object of their imagination was instead a giant quantum wave function. Which in plain English translates to a mathematical structure that encodes everything the universe could possibly be (i.e. it would contain the scenario where I do eat that bar of chocolate and one where I swear off chocolate entirely and become a Buddhist monk).   

Entanglement describes an effect that links two objects so intimately that changing one instantly affects the other. Or, to put it more simply, it is the observable effect of when you and your best friend both open Instagram at the same time to send each other reels

All of these different scenarios were all folded up into one package, and on its own this package couldn’t move since it was timeless. But then Page and Wooters split this structure into two pieces. claiming that one half described everything possible to observe in the universe (matter and motion) and the other half acted as an internal clock.   

The duo explained that they would be connected by ‘entanglement’. Entanglement describes an effect that links two objects so intimately that changing one instantly affects the other. Or, to put it more simply, it is the observable effect of when you and your best friend both open Instagram at the same time to send each other reels – no matter how far apart you are. In fact, Page and Wooters showed that this entanglement between the two halves of the wave function would allow for the appearance of time to be possible.   

Whilst this on its own sounds just as wishy-washy as McTaggart’s idea (it’s merely theoretical after all), there has been plenty of research done on the foundation laid in the 80s. From entangling a clock made from magnets, quantum computers, to questioning if the ultimate clock is instead a black hole.  

So, the next time you’re running behind (be it to a circle, a lecture, or for handing in your dissertation) then I challenge you to debate the ‘late-sayers’ with the arguments laid out here. And whilst we don’t know for sure if time is truly an illusion, I hope reading this article has not been a waste of yours.