Does Time Exist?
It appears both time and our definition of existence are relative.
In 1905, Albert Einstein published his groundbreaking special theory of relativity. It challenged one of the bedrock principles of Newtonian physics; namely that the speed of light is the same for all observers, regardless of the relative speed of the observer.
Ten years later, Einstein published the general theory of relativity. This theory considered the effect of gravity on light and time and demonstrated how greater gravitational forces would slow time relative to weaker ones. Since 1915, this has been demonstrated again and again, including through careful measurements showing that for those at sea level (closer to the Earth’s center) time moves more slowly than for those of us at higher altitudes (further from the Earth’s center).
Now, it seems, some physicists are arguing for an even more profound shift in our perception of time by claiming that time doesn’t exist at all. In an August 2022 Space.com article, the physicist Max Tegmark stated, "We can portray our reality as either a three-dimensional place where stuff happens over time, or as a four-dimensional place where nothing happens [‘block universe’] — and if it really is the second picture, then change really is an illusion, because there’s nothing that’s changing; it’s all just there —…
