We see space and time as the stage on which the world takes place. While space does not change and is given in one go, time unfolds. But, for physicists, Einstein made time like space, unchanging and given in one block. He called the combination 'spacetime'. But there is a significant and obvious problem. There is no arrow of time in spacetime. We are already dead when we are born. Moreover, spacetime breaks down at the edge of physics in black holes and the Big Bang. And despite decades of effort, spacetime has not been made compatible with quantum mechanics, which describes a probabilistic world, not a determined one.
Was it a mistake to see spacetime as revealing the ultimate nature of reality, and where might we look for an alternative? Should we treat spacetime as a powerful framework, but one that is incapable of providing a final account of the world? Or must we overcome the challenges to spacetime since it is essential to our understanding of the world?
Was it a mistake to see spacetime as revealing the ultimate nature of reality, and where might we look for an alternative? Should we treat spacetime as a powerful framework, but one that is incapable of providing a final account of the world? Or must we overcome the challenges to spacetime since it is essential to our understanding of the world?
