rational people only (no yecs)

This is not quite on topic.. but I thought it was interesting. In a post a few pages back quicksink and Joe Meert said the following:

quote:

---

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by quicksink:
if the laws of physics were created at the moment of the big bang, wouldn't that mean that all time was decided from that point forward? if you think about it, the laws of physics have total control over every inanimate object- they move it- they make it- they destroy it.

​

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

​

JM: Well, not necessarily. The 'laws of physics' may have existed....well I hate to use the word but here goes...before the Big bang. In other words, our Universe may have come about simply because these 'laws' are able to produce a stable universe. Your assertion regarding time is absolutely correct. Time began at the instant of the BB (hence my reluctance to use the word 'before' earlier). As far as how we measure 'time' you are also both correct and incorrect. We (here on earth) define time in terms of our reference frame. The convenient measure is one revolution around the Sun. We could therefore redefine time as we like and Einstein indicated that all time is dependent upon the reference frame of the observer.....

---

The basic gist of a discussion when talking to the average person about the Big Bang, and the non-existence of time before it, is their utter incredulity of the time not existing at some point. I think that shows a bit of parochialism in the sense that we find it difficult to think of time in any other sense than how we experience it now.I think it would be sort of fun to explore alternate models of time. Perhaps asynchronous cellular time, manifold or partitioned time, fractal time, perhaps multi-axis time. I think offhand that there must be quite a few mathematical models of time that could not be fit into a single linear time axis, and would make for a pretty interesting set of dynamics.[This message has been edited by Rationalist, 08-16-2002]