Review of Absolute Being vs Relative Becoming

[muon200]

Attributions
The essay was written by Joy Christian, a physicist, in 2007 and this review is written by Alan Folmsbee, an electrical engineer, in 2014. The essay is on the web at http://arxiv.org/pdf/gr-qc/0610049.pdf

Terminology
The subject of the essay is time. At first, I quickly skimmed over the 32 page essay to judge if I am qualified to understand it in a full reading. Yes. Some simple words and phrases seem to be loaded with meanings from past philosophical debates about rigorous scientific modeling of time. Here are the loaded simple phrases used in the context of research physics:

becoming
relational
block universe interpretation
oscillating flavor ratios
proper time
Eleatics
Parmenides
Heraclitus

These words and phrases are discussed in the Glossary at the end of this review. On the internet, sciphysicsforums.com is where this review will be posted.

Purposes of the Essay by Joy Christian
The essay proposes experiments to "decide whether time is best understood relationally, or non-relationally". Also, a generalized theory is given in which "proper time is causally compelled to be tensed". The Growth Vector Field equation is fabricated.

The essay rejects relational time because a "tenseless linear ordering of temporal moments by a transitive, asymmetric, and irreflexive relation precedes—is deemed incapable of describing a genuine change or becoming."

"The purpose of this essay, first, is to disentangle the notion of a becoming universe from that of an absolute time, and then"... to show the time-related differences in special relativity and the general relativity.

Introduction
This review is inspired by discussions on a website sciphysicsforums.com of my retracted theory that "time does not exist". The essay by JC was used as a rebuttal against my theory. I now claim that my theory is wrong. Time does exist. Time is tensed so that past and future times have meanings in reality.

Technical Innovation
The inverse Planck time is used. It "necessitates energies and momenta to be
invariantly bounded from above, and lengths and durations similarly bounded
from below, by their respective Planck scale values".

The inverse Planck time "perhaps... should be taken to be more primitive in physical theories than the usual assumption of absolute upper bound c on possible speeds of motion."

The speed of light "c is merely a conversion factor between the dimensions of time and space."

"It is this state-dependence of time that is essentially what mandates the causal necessity for becoming in the present theory".

Time is caused by something involving state and position. Time is compelled to flow by a fact. Whether this is true or false will not be addressed in this review of the essay. Here is what causes time to flow inevitably:

JC, "the causal structure embedded within our generalized relativity is profoundly unorthodox".

JC, "For, as evident from the quadratic invariant (equation 14), in addition to space, time in our generalized theory is as much a state-dependent attribute as states are time-dependent
attributes, and as states of the world do happen and become, so does time."

JC, "it is this state-dependence of time that is essentially what mandates the causal necessity for becoming."

JC, "growth of existence turns out to be causally necessitated in the present theory".

JC, "It is crucial to note here that in special relativity this Growth Vector Field would vanish identically everywhere, whereas in our generalized theory it cannot possibly vanish anywhere." See equation 47 for the Growth stuff. Growth of time is inevitable.

JC, “not only do all such “nows” move, but they cannot not move—i.e., not only does the
sum total of existence increase, but it cannot not increase. To parody Weyl quoted above, the objective world cannot simply be, it can only happen.” (page 25).

JC, “the causal necessity of the lower bound (52) on the magnitude of the overall growth vector field U A—which follows from the causality constraint (14)—exhibits that in the present theory the sum total of existence itself is causally necessitated to increase continuously.

The cause of time to flow inevitably is shown in an equation which is not zero. The equation defines the Growth Vector Field.


Criticism #1
The purpose of the essay indicates that time is assumed to exist as an important dimension and that the elimination of time as a dimension is not evaluated. The state and the space are not enough to allow change. Time is required, according to the author JC.

Criticism #2
Proper time duration is emphasized but time is treated as too slippery for dissection. (pages 12, 17).

Criticism #3
The Growth Vector Field equation is fabricated to reach the goal of making time flow be inevitable. The essay did not derive the equation, it is created out of symbols from the imagination of its author. This is a valid technique. It is useful and practical to write a new equation that defines time as emerging with unstoppable progress. Experiments to confirm of reject the fabricated equation can then be performed. How can this be criticized? Easy. Fabrications are available for any of us to make. How many experiments will really be done for a reputable scientist or a retired engineer? All it takes is money and planning.

"It is crucial to note here that in special relativity this Growth Vector Field would vanish identically everywhere, whereas in our generalized theory it cannot possibly vanish anywhere." JC.

"this continuous growth of existence... can be represented by a Growth Vector Field..." JC. Fabricated.

The Growth Vector Field equation has the following symbols:

V is the velocity vector field (eq. 45). "we can represent its journey by the integral curve of a timelike... velocity vector field V..." Fabricated.

dy is a differential of phase space.

dTAU is a differential for proper time. let T = TAU for this review.

Putting all the symbols together gives something simple, similar to this:
U = V(dT/dy)

That is simple. The field U equals a derivative times V. The derivative describes how proper time changes with distance. It is like an upside down velocity. Not meters per second. It is seconds per meter. Time is flowing in this description. It is fabricated to produce the desired result that was expected from a philosophy.

"No such objective growth of reality can be found within the Einstein-Minkowski framework for the causal structure". JC

"in the Einstein-Minkowski framework there is no causal compulsion for becoming." JC.

Praise #1
Time is a subject that is so basic that the English Language is not suitable for rigorous proofs of its existence. But that author JC has bravely attempted to explain some aspects of time. Mathematics are difficult to formulate that can take t apart and use t to test t. The author JC has made an effort to manipulate proper time, which has more features than t. Congratulations are appropriate for the author of the essay that describes how t has its hooks into reality.

Praise #2
The New Causal Theory
The focus is on one idea in the essay on pages 22 and 23. The author JC asserts that time is flowing for a reason that is articulated in some detail. The Growth Vector Field equation is provided to make the theory have a mathematical form. That is in equation 51.

Comments by the Reviewer
The essay combines prose and math to attempt to persuade people that time must flow. I like to joke about the Linguish Anguage which results from us giants writing about the tiny, the invisible, the immeasurable, and the universal dimensions. Existence does not easily surrender to close examination, but it becomes ghostlike and it is mostly made of nothing. Therefore it is appropriate to fabricate a theory out of philosophy and hope that experiments confirm that the universe works the way we want it to: with time really existing as an unstoppable emergence.

Experiments Are Possible to Confirm What?

JC, “The precision required to directly verify such a miniscule correction to the special relativistic prediction is well beyond the scope of any foreseeable precision technology”.

The experiment would confirm a correction to a special relativity equation.

JC, “ detect possible deviations in the energy-momentum relations predicted by special relativity” using cosmic neutrinos.

JC, “the Planck scale deviations in the oscillation length predicted by our generalized relativity would be either observable, or can be ruled out, for neutrinos of energy 10^17 eV, provided that they have originated from a cosmic source located at some 10^5 light-years away from a terrestrial detector.”

The experiment would measure deviations in a length. The old theory gives one length. The new theory gives another length to confirm the new equations.

JC, “at sufficiently high energies any red-shifted photons would be somewhat more red-shifted according to (61) than predicted by special relativity”.

Conclusion
As states of the world do happen and become, so does time. Time is perceived to continue because states of atoms, radiations, and anything are changing. It is the changing of states that makes people believe in time. It is a subtle difference to promote this idea, but reject the idea that time is not a dimension, but is just perceived because states change. This essay by JC provides a mathematical description of how time is compelled to grow and is not just a summation of a sequence of states perceptible by us giants. Even at the level of particles and single state changes, time grows according to JC's Growth Vector Field.

Is this profound? Yes. Subtle, hidden, small, universal, and profound; especially if confirmed by experiments that are not possible in 2014. Check back again in 40 years to read about particles from a star not too far away that confirm it.

Glossary

becoming: The usual definition, but for everything. Continuous change. Not just existing but required to inevitably change.

relational: for time, relational means time does not flow. Time is an ordered sequence of "now" moments. Einstein's special theory is relational. "But is our celebration of Einstein’s relativistic revolution complete only through an unconditional renunciation of Newton’s non-relationally becoming universe?" JC.

non-relational: for time, non-relational means time flows. Time is evolving. Joy Christian's theory is non-relational. Read Newton, for whom “absolute, true, and mathematical time, of itself, and from its own nature, flowed equably without relation to anything external...”

block universe interpretation: the four dimensions in space-time, (x,y,z,t) exist, so the future is predetermined.

oscillating flavor ratios: neutrinos change flavor. Look it up.

proper time: a duration of time measured with a tough method

Eleatics: Change is nothing but an illusion; a sequence of states. Now. Relational.

Parmenides: Change is nothing but an illusion; a sequence of states. Now. Relational.

Heraclitus: Becoming is important. Past, present, and future flow like a river. See McTaggart. Non-Relational.

[Joy Christian]

Hi Alan,

Thanks for the review. It brought back some old memories (because the original paper on which the above essay is based was written some eleven years ago, in 2003: http://arxiv.org/pdf/gr-qc/0308028.pdf).

I think the important thing you have missed is that I have not "fabricated" the new theory. The generalized inertial structure which gives rise to the growth vector is actually arrived at by rigorous operational considerations, in close analogy with how Einstein arrived at his special theory of relativity. In fact my Heraclitian theory of relativity is operationally better founded than Einstein's theory of relativity, because he missed the role the evolution of the clock plays in the derivation of his theory (he only considered the roles space and time played, but missed the role of the state of the clock in the inertial structure). This operational aspect of my theory may be somewhat sidelined in the essay you have reviewed, but it is hard to miss in the original paper (linked above). Thus I have not "fabricated" anything. The growth vector in fact pops out naturally from the generalized line element of the refined inertial structure, which in turn is derived from purely operational considerations.

Also, I do not think we will have to wait for 40 years for an experimental test of my proposal. My estimate is more like 15 to 20 years. I don't think that is so bad.

[muon200]

JC wrote, "the important thing you have missed is that I have not "fabricated" the new theory. The generalized inertial structure which gives rise to the growth vector is actually arrived at by rigorous operational considerations, in close analogy with how Einstein arrived at his special theory of relativity. "

muon200 responds:
This discussion will continue as I read your earlier paper and try to understand that the symbols in the Growth Vector Field are symbols that are derived from more basic formulae. I plan on expanding the symbols' substructures to spell out all basic facts that are not fabricated. My studies of time will become more focused on the "generalized inertial structure" according to your guidance. I am glad your refer to the Special Theory of Relativity that I can study more easily than the General one from Einstein.

muon200 adds:
I have been developing my philosophy of time for decades and it was gratifying to read in your paper phrases that partially confirm by retracted idea that time does not exist. JC: "as states of the world do happen and become, so does time."

Off Topic Bibliographical Note: I read a book by Einstein called: "The Meaning of Relativity". I recommend it for other people to read. Albert takes Newton's position that G is not derived, but measured as a gravitational constant. Albert had a team. Minkowski and Levi-Civita came to his aid. Minkowski was Einstein's math teacher and graded him in class as "a slow dog". Without the team, Einstein would have remained a philosopher concerning relativity.