What is Time? Stephen Wolfram’s Groundbreaking New Theory

Into the Impossible With Brian Keating

Brian Keating

Science, Physics, Natural Sciences

4.7 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 2 December 2024

⏱️ 92 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Please join my mailing list here 👉 https://briankeating.com/list to win a meteorite 💥 What is time? Is it just a ticking clock, or is it something more profound? In this thought-provoking episode of Into the Impossible, Stephen Wolfram challenges everything we know about time, offering a revolutionary computational perspective that could forever change how we understand the universe. Stephen Wolfram is a computer scientist, physicist, and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research and the creator of Mathematica, Wolfram Alpha, and Wolfram Language. Over the course of 4 decades, he has pioneered the development & application of computational thinking. He has been responsible for many discoveries, inventions & innovations in science, technology, and business. He argues that time is the inevitable progress of computation in the universe, where simple rules can lead to complex behaviors. This concept, termed computational irreducibility, implies that time has a rigid structure and that our perception of it is limited by our computational capabilities. Wolfram also explores the relationship between time, space, and gravity, suggesting that dark matter might be a feature of the structure of space. Tune in to discover the true nature of time. Key Takeaways: 00:00:00 Intro 00:01:06 The true nature of time 00:24:57 The role of computational irreducibility in thermodynamics 00:30:07 The Ruliad and the nature of observers 00:53:40 The role of gravity in the computational universe 01:06:27 Dark matter and the discreteness of space 01:13:06 Paradigm shifts in science and technology 01:20:33 Exploring the cosmic microwave background (CMB) 01:31:47 Outro Additional resources: ➡️ Check out Stephen Wolfram: 💻 Website: https://www.stephenwolfram.com/ ✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/stephen_wolfram ➡️ Follow me on your fav platforms: ✖️ Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrBrianKeating 🔔 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/DrBrianKeating?sub_confirmation=1 📝 Join my mailing list: https://briankeating.com/list ✍️ Check out my blog: https://briankeating.com/cosmic-musings/ 🎙️ Follow my podcast: https://briankeating.com/podcast Into the Impossible with Brian Keating is a podcast dedicated to all those who want to explore the universe within and beyond the known. Make sure to follow/subscribe so you never miss an episode! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Time is really not just like space.
0:02.0	Time is a very different phenomenon from space.
0:05.0	The fact that relativity emerges as this connection between space and time
0:09.0	is something that is kind of an emergent thing.
0:12.0	It's not something that is intrinsic to the nature of space or the nature of time.
0:16.0	Time, I think, can be thought of as the sort of inexorable progress of computation in the universe.
0:28.1	Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
0:34.7	Open the pod bay doors, hell.
0:37.1	Stephen, the thing that always comes up when we talk about these three subjects, time, life, and consciousness.
0:43.3	Nobody can define it.
0:44.5	Nobody ever gives me a satisfactory definition that those three, you know, people in those fields can agree upon.
0:50.2	And therefore, I think it's kind of bunk.
0:52.4	But today we're going to delve into how we can
0:54.9	actually understand what time is intrinsically, as you say, but also apply it to our field,
0:59.8	my field, cosmic microwave background, its temperature and polarization. So Stephen, how are you doing
1:04.3	today? I'm doing well, thank you. The first thing I want to ask you about is what time is to you versus what it is to the general
1:13.6	listening layperson. We have the brightest audience in the known multiverse, but the question is
1:19.0	we all sort of, it's kind of like the old Supreme Court definition of pornography. You know,
1:23.4	you know it when you see it. But I'd like to connect it both with your physics project and with
1:27.3	my Simon's Array project. That's for like to connect it both with your physics project and with my
1:27.6	Simon's Array project. That's for you to actually do what you do uniquely well, which is to make
1:32.0	things that are very complex, utterly understandable, but preserve the fascination. So, Stephen,
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Brian Keating, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Brian Keating and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.