Objective time (post redo)

[Echogem222]

(This is a post redo of my "How to freeze time using logical reasoning" post, but instead of focusing on the freezing time aspect so much, I've instead gone in the direction of focusing on explaining objective time. I redid that post because many who commented on that post misunderstood the point I was getting at)

Created by an AI (the hourglass represents objective time, and the surroundings of the hourglass represent subjective time)

(Edited this post for more clarity)

The Theory of Objective Time
In the study of time, there’s a distinction between how we experience time subjectively—through our senses and measurements—and the way time operates universally, independent of perception. This leads us to explore what I call Objective Time.

1A. Defining Objective Time
Objective time is the universal flow of time that moves at the slowest possible speed, but importantly, not infinitely slow. It is not bound by the dynamics of space and exists independently of the subjective experiences of time that we, or even non-sentient entities like energy and matter, might encounter.

1B. Why Objective Time Must Move at the Slowest Possible Speed

Consider this example: A fly has a much faster reaction time than humans, meaning it perceives the world as moving more slowly than we do. For the fly, our movements appear drawn out and sluggish. Now imagine a being with an infinitely fast reaction time. To this being, a span of five minutes would appear infinite—they would never reach the end of those five minutes because every moment would stretch into eternity. However, this would contradict our own experience of those five minutes, since we do reach the end of them.

This leads to the logical conclusion that no being can have an infinitely fast reaction time as long as objective time continues to flow. Similarly, within any given moment, there cannot be an infinite number of sub-moments—it must be finite. Objective time, then, must flow at the slowest possible speed without becoming infinite. This ensures that all experiences of subjective time, no matter how fast or slow, can still occur within the universal flow of objective time.

While five minutes may be a measurement of subjective time, objective time is something we all have a partial awareness of. Full awareness of it would require understanding time slowed down to its absolute limit, just short of being infinite—because this is the true speed of objective time.

1C. Why Space Must Be Separate from Objective Time
To understand the relationship between space and objective time, it’s important to recognize why space cannot be directly bound to the flow of time itself. In many models of the universe, space and time are seen as intertwined, as in the concept of spacetime. However, in the framework of objective time, space must exist as something distinct within time, rather than as something inherently connected to time.

The key reason for this separation is that space, by nature, can be manipulated—it can stretch, bend, or contract. Objects moving through space can affect its structure, and forces like gravity can distort it, creating curves and warps. But if space were inherently tied to objective time, these changes in space would necessarily have to influence time itself, which would contradict the idea of objective time as an unchanging constant. Objective time must remain unaffected by the distortions of space in order to maintain its universal, steady flow.

By keeping space separate from objective time, we allow for space to bend, shift, or be influenced by the objects and forces within it, without affecting the fundamental flow of time. This ensures that, even if space undergoes immense transformations—such as those described in general relativity, where gravity can curve space—the flow of objective time remains constant and uninfluenced.

Imagine space as a stage where all events, motions, and transformations occur. Objective time is the backdrop against which this stage is set. The events happening on the stage can shift and change, but the backdrop of objective time remains unaffected, simply allowing everything to unfold.

This separation also resolves another key issue: if space were directly bound to objective time, any changes or distortions in space could create inconsistencies in the experience of time, making it impossible for time to have the constant, steady flow that defines objective time. By being separate, objective time allows for consistency in the passage of time, while space remains flexible and dynamic.

2. Subjective Time and Our Observations
While objective time flows steadily, subjective time is what we experience, and it can change based on certain conditions. For instance, both matter and energy—things like light, people, or even particles—have their own subjective experiences of time. This is where we often encounter confusion: when we observe phenomena like time dilation, or when energy seems to slow down near a gravitational field, we might think that time itself is slowing down or speeding up.

In reality, this is the subjective experience of time for that particular entity changing, not objective time. For example, light traveling near a black hole might appear to slow down from our perspective, but this is because the gravity around the black hole alters the subjective experience of time for the light. Objective time, however, continues its unperturbed flow, unaffected by these local phenomena.

3. The Cause of Confusion
What often confuses us is that we observe these changes scientifically—like how time appears to slow down near massive objects, or when objects approach the speed of light. This leads us to think that time itself is altering. But what is actually changing is the subjective time experienced by these non-sentient entities (light, matter, energy), not the universal flow of time.

Science helps us measure these subjective shifts and understand the conditions that cause them. However, objective time remains constant, continuing at the slowest possible speed. In other words, while we experience the river’s waves and ripples, the underlying current remains the same.

Conclusion
Objective time offers a new way to think about the flow of time: as a slow, unchanging constant that underlies everything in the universe, unaffected by the forces that manipulate space or influence subjective experiences of time. By recognizing the distinction between objective time and subjective time, we can better understand why time appears to behave differently in certain situations, while realizing that the fundamental flow of time never changes.


Here is a video about people talking about this topic (not specifically what I've said, but strongly related to it):

 

[Echogem222]

Here is 2 added sections to my post which would be right after #3 and before the conclusion:

4. An Example of Subjective Time Reversal
Through changes in diet, we can appear younger. With skill, we can repair damaged objects, and through artistic endeavors like theater sets or paintings, we can recreate the past. These examples show how, in various ways, we can manipulate our perception of time.
But imagine something far more drastic: what if time itself seemed to reverse? Suppose light began moving backwards, and suddenly, you found yourself sitting in a room as a young child again, reliving a moment from the distant past. In this scenario, everyone else has forgotten the future — they believe you are truly in the past, living it as though for the first time once more. People who have died are alive again, objects that have worn down are as they once were, and everything feels as though it has reset, except for your memories. To you, it would naturally feel as though time itself has reversed.

However, this creates a contradiction: objective time, the underlying flow that governs all events, could not have reversed. While your subjective experience might suggest that time has gone backward, this would logically contradict the present moment. Therefore, even if such a reversal were to happen in your subjective perception, it would have to be false. Objective time continues to move forward, unchanged, while subjective time can, theoretically, appear to reverse.

5. Objective Time: The Slowest Movie Possible
Imagine objective time as a movie playing at the slowest possible speed, with an infinite runtime. The only way for the movie to slow down even further would be to pause it entirely. However, if the movie were paused, it would be frozen forever, never able to resume, leaving it stuck in a permanent standstill. This represents the absolute minimum speed of objective time—it can’t go any slower without ceasing to exist as a flowing, continuous process.

Now, contrast this with subjective time, which is like having the ability to fast-forward the movie. When you fast-forward, you're not experiencing every frame or sound in the movie; you're skipping over details to move ahead more quickly. In much the same way, subjective time moves faster by skipping over certain events or moments that are, in essence, too small or insignificant for us to notice.
In our experience of subjective time on Earth, the "events" that are skipped over are meaningless to us. We don’t perceive the infinitesimal shifts in energy or matter at every moment, because our consciousness is only attuned to events that occur on a human timescale. To experience the flow of objective time in all its excruciatingly slow detail would be like watching your daily life unfold at a rate so slow that it becomes unbearable. Every trivial moment would stretch out endlessly, driving us to madness because we wouldn’t be able to handle time's unfathomable slowness.

Thus, subjective time allows us to live at a more comprehensible pace, skipping over the microscopic events that objective time records without skipping a beat. Objective time is always moving at its slow, steady, universal pace—unfazed by our perceptions—while subjective time selectively "fast-forwards" through the details that hold no meaning to us. This is why we are able to live, move, and think without being overwhelmed by the immense, unrelenting flow of objective time.

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And here is an added introduction that would naturally be at the very beginning of my post (this part is unrelated to objective time, it just has to do with how the post was made):

Introduction​

In the modern world, philosophy often finds itself anchored to the thoughts of historical figures, sometimes to the point where independent ideas struggle to be valued unless they echo those of the past. This post, "The Theory of Objective Time," challenges that tradition by offering a fresh, imaginative exploration of time that emerges almost entirely from original reflection despite how it might seem (Einstein's theory of time, and the origins of the word time itself, etc. these are obviously not my original ideas that just happened to be the same). This is because I did not go to a college or university to learn philosophy, I learned it on my own, using mainly the internet as a source of knowledge, and having online debates with people to spark new ideas in my mind, as well as refine existing ones.

While the wording of this post has been refined with the help of AI, the core ideas, logical structure, and philosophical insights are entirely my own. Rather than relying on the established frameworks of past philosophers, this work represents an independent investigation into the nature of time — both as it exists universally (objective time) and as we experience it subjectively.

I invite readers to approach this post with an open mind, free from the biases that often arise from the expectations of philosophical conformity. The goal here is not to follow in the footsteps of traditional philosophy but to carve a new path, unbound by the assumptions of the past. This is an invitation to explore the nature of time in a way that prioritizes imagination, innovation, and independent thought.