Introducing Time (Introducing...(Totem))

Rating:
Summary: Proof that "Time" is interpretive, thus not understandable--
Review: I purchased this book because I hoped to gain a deep or profound insight about Time from educated, intellectual minds. And while I did in fact achieve this goal, it was not thru the manner that I expected.

I support the entire "Introducing..." series by Totem because their illustrations along with genuine, serious educational content make the books highly appealing, attractive and inspiring. And this one was no exception -- in terms of doing its best to present, primarily chronologically, what informed minds from involved and associated fields had to say, or present as theory, about "Time." But -- and this is meant to have a dramatic impact -- BUT... it was through reading what these thinkers and scholars had to say about time that verified to me that nobody knows what it is. Which is a good thing; a great thing! To me this means that a little boy or girl living out in the middle of nowhere has just as much right -- and is equally "correct" -- in whatever they feel or suppose "time" is. After reading this book, I realized that nobody can 'know' what Time is, but rather they attempt to define it in ways, that when one looks at it clearly, should come to see as solely based on the way 'time' is measured. Again, time is not definable; it is open to interpretaion; one must be wary of definitions that purport to define, but really do nothing more than present notions based upon how 'time' is measured. A person who sees "time" as seconds, minutes, hours, days, months and years is no more correct than a person who experiences time as an independent, deeply-personal intuitive experience.

The best part of the book is the brief area where Einstein's theories of relativity are introduced. As for the rest, to this reader, it was truly great minds "mentally masturbating." The question is: Do these great minds know they're "m.m-ing" or do they truly believe they are offering a profound contribution to the study of Time?

But, in all fairness to the book, it was not until I read it that I came to understand what I have attempted to present here. And what I would like to say to any person wondering if they should read this book: Yes, do so; but be confident in whatever you get out of the experience, in terms of your idea of time, do know that you too are equally correct!

Nobody knows or understands time. It is open to interpretation. And that is what makes it a beautiful phenomenon. "Time" has not given its secrets over to any one.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to a difficult subject
Review: The nature of time is a difficult subject. Fortunately, Craig Callender (dig the name!) has made the subject (or at least the most relevant views and issues) easier to understand in this superb little book. He begins by surveying what may be considered different types of time, including our psychological experience of temporal succession, measured time, and biological time. He then covers the difference between an absolutist (i.e., temporal succession is independent of any change in the universe) and a relational view (i.e., time just *is* change in the universe), as well as the discussion over whether time really has a direction, or whether or not reality is a space-time 'block' whose moments are individuated by an entity's location on the space-time block. In doing so, Callender surveys various arguments for or against these views, and he discusses even more intuitively odd scenarios such as backward causation and time travel. The last third or so of the book deals with time and its relation to physical laws, such as the entropy law. In treating the subject, Callender introduces the reader to all sorts of odd theoretical entities like wormholes, lightcones, and mobius twists in time. All in all, this is a great book for anyone interested in thinking a bit about what, exactly, time *is*. It is especially useful as a precursor to more academic works like MacBeath and LePoidevin's anthology, The Philosophy of Time.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent introduction to a difficult subject
Review: The nature of time is a difficult subject. Fortunately, Craig Callender (dig the name!) has made the subject (or at least the most relevant views and issues) easier to understand in this superb little book. He begins by surveying what may be considered different types of time, including our psychological experience of temporal succession, measured time, and biological time. He then covers the difference between an absolutist (i.e., temporal succession is independent of any change in the universe) and a relational view (i.e., time just *is* change in the universe), as well as the discussion over whether time really has a direction, or whether or not reality is a space-time 'block' whose moments are individuated by an entity's location on the space-time block. In doing so, Callender surveys various arguments for or against these views, and he discusses even more intuitively odd scenarios such as backward causation and time travel. The last third or so of the book deals with time and its relation to physical laws, such as the entropy law. In treating the subject, Callender introduces the reader to all sorts of odd theoretical entities like wormholes, lightcones, and mobius twists in time. All in all, this is a great book for anyone interested in thinking a bit about what, exactly, time *is*. It is especially useful as a precursor to more academic works like MacBeath and LePoidevin's anthology, The Philosophy of Time.