Reality: Time, Space and Math

I am not a Mathematician, None of these ideas are entirely original, I am only sharing an intuitive leap I made, a thought experiment of sorts. An idea which has surely been made before.

Recently while meandering through my thoughts during a shared discussion with a friend. I came to and interesting conclusion regarding mathematics and the world we live in. Newton believed that time was absolute, and Einstein proved that time is relativistic. However, I will go so far to say that time simply does not exist, nor does space.

Our entire world view is based upon the predetermined physical senses we posses, and our personality provides the interface through which we may best channel this information within our brains to form interpretations, perceptions, feelings, intuitive understandings, and most importantly, thoughts. I would like to now point out a fundamental limitation concerning humanities' ability to achieve deeper understanding pertaining to unlocking the "secrets of the universe."

As you perceive your reality, space and time are most certainly real, yet only real concerning yourself owing to the fact that we ourselves are self limiting. Meaning, what we perceive is what we get, regardless of the manner the information was acquired; since all information is subject to the processes occurring between the ears. This is not to say that what we perceive to be, is all there is or could be. To think that all we perceive to be, is all there really is, will be the greatest shortcoming of science. As people, we foster the inability to truly know the deepest mysteries of the universe unto ourselves, simply out of course of nature. It is our Physiological limitation in evolution or perhaps the way god has made us, or simply the way. Regardless, we are self limiting.

So in what way are we self limiting? Firstly, we have automatic functions of memory, which by definition create an image of the past and therefore by extension mandate a perception of time. Moreover, we could also say that our brains manufacture time, and the existence of time is limited solely within the brain and does not exist outside of it. Yet, because of memory, time remains an inevitable outcome. Hence the idea of time. Secondly, because we possess a physical form (body) to harbor our psyche and to sustain it, and too, the psyche to sustain the body, we must for this need possess a system in which to sense and interpret our environment. We then navigate our environment in an effort to continue life using a 3d spacial model in our minds. Hence the idea of "space". Our psyche perceives time and space not because that is all that exists, but because that is what the body and mind (or whomever) chose to acknowledge and make use of.  Humanities' concept of time nor space may not necessarily be true or accurate against the actual true properties of the universe, or the ensuing reality surrounding those "truths". These truths may only be known by the universe itself. If truths beyond our ideas of space and time were attainable, we would know of them, not to say they may still not arise.

The manner to which we perceive the universe is a barrier to understanding the true nature of reality relative to the universe itself. Being self limited we continue to construct this reality based on ourselves rather to reality itself.  Because of this, humanity as a whole is really only searching for deeper understanding of self, and how self relates to the perceivable universe and so this creates our image of reality, not the image of reality. Perhaps the reality that cannot be seen, or cannot be known, is no reality at all? If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it still fall? If so, how much can you tell me of the tree, and the woods, and the sky, and the unfathomable? How much can you truly know when you are only able to hear the tree?

I put forth, that, because of these reasons, the idea of time to be a real thing that exists will be a limiting prospect in just how far down (or up) the mathematical rabbit hole we may travel. We have our theories, but it is truly difficult to know the "what" that came "before" this current manifestation of the Universe. Due to our notions of what matter and energy are, it is profoundly difficult to imagine a "beginning" that arises from "nothing." Since my mind is actively manufacturing time, I am also unable to conceive of a universe without a time of beginning, harder still; a universe that indeed has a time of beginning.  If there is no beginning and no end, there is a condition of true timelessness. Like a running river with no end and no beginning, time twists back on itself like some baffling MC Escher art, leading nowhere but always rushing past in a hurry to arrive, and an instant later it is gone.  We may stick our hand into the river and measure time passing, knowing full well there is no beginning or end, but still there its is flowing by. Though, we may be deceiving ourselves, being that this river is only just a donut shaped lake, whereby water does not flow at all. It's stillness is perverted by the subtle awareness of each memory, of each passing instant, and thus again our minds betray us. More fundamentally, our need to assign a time and place of origin to the universe only underpins the fact that we are physiologically dependent on our mental construct of time and space. Thereby we are self limiting and may never grow to posses the mental prerequisites of unraveling the universe.

So as we further and further dissect the universe's inner workings, we may find we approach nearer and nearer to the universe's true nature, through our own  understandings. Understandings which began with a practical application of science long ago, beginning with, but later expanding upon arbitrary names and values based upon observations of our physical world; we now carry these measured observations as our truths. Thus, we trudge onward building upon knowledge as it is acquired and soon we are convinced we are figuring things out. These things we explain to be, are still only true to ourselves, and subject to our collective sensory based perceptions and ideas of space and time only. The universe contains all things, we humans contain all things too since of the universe we arise, however we only know our things. We do not know the secrets of the universe, we only know our secrets of the universe. Knowing we are of the universe, perhaps looking inside ourselves may bear the answers we seek, using the annals of the mind, perhaps we may duplicate the great void by simply clearing the mind of thoughts, perhaps there we can find answers?

We may find, the true nature of the universe is a reality requiring tools needed to understand, that our minds do not yet posses. A true nature so unaligned with our created reality, we lack the collective experience to equate that nature into a tangible context concerning our reality. Imagine for a second that the universe is not the universe, but a person, as you are.

Mr. universe and yourself are the collective sum of all your experiences.(again manufacturing time to express myself: eg. "experience") Mr. universe and yourself are complete strangers. You study Mr. Universe and you can gather a great deal of information from him simply on looks alone. You may even draw some similarities between yourselves and this may help you really try and figure him out since you are able to relate your observed ideas of him to your personal experiences and patterns of behavior. From here you are able to begin to conclude that Mr. Universe may or may not be like you in any characteristic you have observed of him, or any normal sense you have come to know. You may even create theories about the universe that cannot be known without asking. Therein lies the problem. You cannot ask the universe. You cannot ask the universe because it does not speak your language, in fact there is nothing alike between the two of you, other than the fact that you both have parts of you that occupy this physical realm, and you are made of the same things.

Now lets pretend that Mr. Universe learned to speak our language. When Mr. Universe sees himself, he defines himself as himself and understands he is constructed in a particular way, yet, unfortunately despite his best efforts, we are unable to understand his explanations. We are unable to understand because the manner in which he detects his reality and the manner in which he thinks, cannot bear a single correlation relative to the sum of our experiences and the manner in which we detect and think of our own reality. Since Mr. universe is able to see and understand all things of himself he is certainly the keeper to the knowledge we desire. However, when he attempts to explain, he is unable to summon words to offer even a fraction of his fullest comprehension, he may only just reveal to us that which is bound to the limits of our own comprehension, and of this he knows very little. He does so not purposefully, but of circumstance. Since Mr. Universe has no concept of time or space, he is unable to translate his truths into alignment with the manner which we were made to comprehend. So although he does have answers we do not always have the key; since time and space provides the basis for our reality, but, is in no way part of Mr universe's elemental composition. Because time and space is fundemental to our basic nature, yet fundementally irrelevant to Mr. Universe's basic nature; understanding Mr Universe as he himself does is counterintuitive if not impossible, but try we may. Understanding would require severing the elastic bond of memory by which our reality is attached, and shattering the constraints of space.Without reckognizing the absurd insignificance of self to the whole, the prospect of knowing anything beyond what we do currently is surely well on the other side of the fence. If we can see the fence, maybe we may remove it one nail at a time and soon after, journey forth to parts unkown. The universe is a truly mad place.

 Timeless, and unrestrained by humanities' concepts of Time and Space, the universe simply is. How do we become able to perceive a reality that does not actually contain any 3d space or the passing of time? The limits of Maths and Physics may indeed be faced with this problem some day, as history is full of such instances of puzzlement. (there's that "time" talk again) It is my belief that mathematics and physics may face a sizeable challenge if concepts of space and time can no longer prove useful in describing the universe. In this case we will have established the outer perimeter of this reality observed by our psyche's, one which contains all possibilities to this reality, as limited by ourselves. On that day we may indeed see the fence. On that day we may attempt to evolve past these limitations in perception, and forge ahead to create a new reality armed with new ways to perceive our external world.

Post Script. 
thoughts to consider:
The brain can make time pass more quickly or slowly within itself. eg dreams

Early single celled organisms had not the nervous system to detect time. Look at an ant? Is it aware of time? Many things live in this world subject to our perceptions of time, while they themselves have no knowledge of time as we do.