Time as an Illusion

TL;DR

This paper explores the concept that time is a subjective illusion, proposing that all moments exist simultaneously in a higher-dimensional universe, with our perception of unfolding events being a physical illusion.

Contribution

It reviews historical and theoretical perspectives on time as an illusion, connecting relativity and higher-dimensional models to this concept.

Findings

All moments in time may exist simultaneously in a higher-dimensional space.

The perception of time's flow could be a physical mechanism creating an illusion.

Death might be interpreted as a phase change in this framework.

Abstract

We review the idea, due to Einstein, Eddington, Hoyle and Ballard, that time is a subjective label, whose primary purpose is to order events, perhaps in a higher-dimensional universe. In this approach, all moments in time exist simultaneously, but they are ordered to create the illusion of an unfolding experience by some physical mechanism. This, in the language of relativity, may be connected to a hypersurface in a world that extends beyond spacetime. Death in such a scenario may be merely a phase change.