Originally posted by KazetNagorra
That's not a given, physics has a preferential direction of time because of the laws of thermodynamics.
The thermodynamic arrow of time is a notion we adhere to because we are simply unable to comprehend any other. However, the thermodynamic arrow of time is unable to deal with more existential matters such as existence. The causal arrow of time is.
Sorry to cut and paste but this says it better than I could
'An epistemological problem with using causality as an arrow of time is that, as David Hume maintained, the causal relation per se cannot be perceived; one only perceives sequences of events. Furthermore it is surprisingly difficult to provide a clear explanation of what the terms "cause" and "effect" really mean, or to define the events to which they refer. However, it does seem evident that dropping a cup of water is a cause while the cup subsequently shattering and spilling the water is the effect.
Physically speaking, the perception of cause and effect in the dropped cup example is partly a phenomenon of the thermodynamic arrow of time, a consequence of the Second law of thermodynamics.[7] Controlling the future, or causing something to happen, creates correlations between the doer and the effect,[8] and these can only be created as we move forwards in time, not backwards. However, it is also partly a phenomenon of the relation of physical form and functionality to the attributes and functional capacities of physical agents. For example, the causes of the resultant pattern of cup fragments and water spill are easily attributable in terms of the loss of manual grip, gravity, trajectory of the cup and contents, irregularities in its structure, angle of its impact on the floor, etc. However, applying the same event in reverse, it is difficult to explain how the various pieces of the cup come to possess exactly the nature and number of a cup before assembling, how they could assemble (as neither floors nor hands can create china cups unaided), why they should assemble precisely into the shape of a cup and fly up into the human hand (as immobile floors cannot throw and, without contact, the human hand lacks the capacity to move objects unaided) and why the water should position itself entirely within the cup.'
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrow_of_time
My argument is that in the context of existence, the notion of cause and effect makes more sense if the universe itself were a temporal loop. Further, as humankind is the entity we actually know of then it is most likely that 'we' created the universe.
Is our future history?
15 Jun '12 11:12
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