Time's Arrow and Simultaneity: A Critique of Rovelli's Views

TL;DR

This paper critiques Rovelli's views on the nature of time, arguing that entropy growth is not the origin of the arrow of time and proposing the possibility of universal simultaneity within general relativity.

Contribution

It challenges traditional thermodynamic explanations of time's arrow and offers a revised perspective on simultaneity in general relativity.

Findings

Entropy growth is not the sole origin of time's arrow

Universal simultaneity may exist in general relativity

Reevaluation of foundational concepts in the physics of time

Abstract

In the joint paper "Bridging the neuroscience and physics of time" Rovelli, as the physicist coauthor of neuroscientist Dean Buonomano, makes statements that rely on theoretical frameworks employed when the laws of thermodynamics and general relativity were discovered. Their reconsideration in the light of subsequent insights suggests growth of entropy is not the origin of time's arrow and that a notion of universal simultaneity may exist within general relativity. This paper is a slightly extended form of my invited contribution to the forthcoming Frontiers in Psychology special issue "Physical time within human time".