
Lee Smolin on the nature of time - jonbaer
http://www.sciencefocus.com/feature/black-holes/incredible-truth-about-time
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richmarr
For anyone who hasn't come across Lee Smolin, he's one of the most articulate
critics of String Theory (or the family of theories that fit vaguely under
that banner).

I thoroughly recommend reading his book "The Trouble With Physics", where he
shares some (from my perspective) great insights on some of the mis-steps the
Physics community has taken over the past 30-40 years.

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xlm1717
To add to this, I thoroughly recommend reading Smolin's paper on the "limited,
and hence reasonable, effectiveness of mathematics in physics." He expands on
one of those mis-steps (quoting from the paper):

>This is in contradiction with the Platonic view of mathematics held by many
physicists and mathematicians according to which, mathematical truths are
facts about mathematical objects which exist in a separate, timeless realm of
reality, which exists apart from and in addition to physical reality

[http://arxiv.org/abs/1506.03733](http://arxiv.org/abs/1506.03733)

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jasode
It seems like Smolin's ideas about conceptualizing "time" outside of equations
is similar to Bergson's.[1] However, Bergson was a philosopher instead of a
physicist. Maybe Smolin's scientific background will add more to the
perspective.

Einstein thought that since the physics equations didn't endow 't' any
profound qualities in relation to other dimensions, "time" was an illusion.

Bergson was saying that "time" that we _experience_ is something that's not
fully captured by equations. He did not disagree with the physics equations
predictive power. Nevertheless, physicists criticized Bergson for not
understanding physics. Bergson criticized the physicists for letting the
equations' practical success dictate the reality/illusion of "time".

It seems like both sides were talking past each other.

[1] [http://www.amazon.com/Physicist-Philosopher-Einstein-
Bergson...](http://www.amazon.com/Physicist-Philosopher-Einstein-Bergson-
Understanding/dp/0691165343)

