On 10/7/2015 1:31 AM, Don Y wrote:
On 10/6/2015 9:18 PM, Muggles wrote:
The solution hasn't really changed. But, how you think about it and how
you approach it has. Some people get (got!) too wired to the previous
procedural approach and weren't able to adopt this other way of
viewing problems. They kept wanting to think in "old terms".

I remember a past discussion about quantum physics in another group, and
it went along the lines of how do we measure time in deep space.
Someone brought up the idea that time had a curve to it, and with that
the discussion got VERY interesting (and fascinating for me, any way).
I noticed that some people were entrenched in particular ideas about
time, but a few people actually enjoyed discussing the possibilities and
"what-ifs" on the subject.

Some years ago, I posed what I thought was a (deceptively) "simple"
question regarding how we think of "local time" -- given that we
have control over our (individual) "timepieces".

E.g., my timepiece claims it is 11:25-ish. If I want to do something
at 12:00, that is ~35 minutes hence. So, I can think of it as being
tied to "12:00".

But, if I change my timepiece's notion of "now" to indicate 11:45,
what does that mean for that "12:00" event? Is it, suddenly, just
15 minutes hence? Or, is it really a 12:20 event, now?

I.e., how do you note which times (events) are "relative" (and, the
reference against which they relate) vs. "absolute"? How would the
answers to the above questions change if I'd said "If I want to do
something ~35 minutes hence" instead of "at 12:00"?

Think also of *dates* in the future. An appointment 3 days hence
is supposed to occur on 9 Oct. But, if I mark an appointment for
9 Oct and later decide my clock is off by a day, how do I know
whether that "9 Oct" appointment should be moved (to reflect
"3 days hence" vs. "on 9 Oct"?

[It's a very subtle difference but has profound consequences when you
are instructing a machine to do something at a particular "time"...
esp given that *YOU* can change that machine's notion of the *current*
time!]

And, now it's "time for SOAP!" :

I husband set's the clock in his bathroom 10 mins ahead. He knows it's
set ahead of what it's supposed to be, but it's his way of giving
himself a buffer so he won't be late for appointments. He says when
he's tired he just looks at the clock and uses that time to get ready
and temporarily forgets he set the clock ahead. It works for him, but
for me I'd want it set to the normal time. The thing about that is the
clocks at the place you have an appointment to be at may be set at a
different time (they may run ahead or behind), so, I've come to the
conclusion that time is actually "relative" to the environment and
people in that environment.

Is time the same in outer space, or is it different? We count time
based on particular increments related to the Earth's revolving around
the sun, so when the Sun and Earth are taken out of that equation how do
we know that time in outer space is measured the same? If the speed of
light is a means to measure time, does it travel in a straight line in
outer space or travel by a curve, OR is the speed affected by the
gravitational pull from the different objects IN space and that
gravitational pull can either either speed up or slow down the speed of
light? How can we determine the age of objects in outer space if we
don't have a valid method of measuring time?

--
Maggie