MYPNA_TE_G12_U3_web.pdf

SCIENCE ARTICLE

Does Time Pass?

Peter Dizikes

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NOTES

BACKGROUND

In 1905, Albert Einstein developed the special theory of relativity, which

demonstrated that the concept of time could change depending on

different factors. For example, time could appear to move more slowly

for people on a spaceship moving near the speed of time. In this theory,

Einstein also introduced the concept of “spacetime,” in which space

and time are inherently connected as a single continuum.

“I

f you walk into a cocktail party and say, ‘I don’t believe that

time passes,’ everyone’s going to think you’re completely

insane,” says Brad Skow, an associate professor of philosophy

at MIT.

He would know: Skow himself doesn’t believe time passes, at

least not in the way we often describe it, through metaphorical

descriptions in which we say, as he notes, “that time flows like a

river, or we move through time the way a ship sails on the sea.”

Skow doesn’t believe time is ever in motion like this. In the

first place, he says, time should be regarded as a dimension of

spacetime, as relativity theory holds—so it does not pass by us

in some way, because spacetime doesn’t. Instead, time is part of

the uniform larger fabric of the universe, not something moving

around inside it.

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About the Author

Peter Dizikes is a science journalist who, prior to working as a staff writer

for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) News, was published

in the New York Times, the Boston Globe, and other prestigious platforms

for writing on science and society. Along with articles that explain scientific

concepts to the public, Dizikes has written about the interaction of science

and politics, technological advancements, and education policy.

UNIT 3 Independent Learning • Does Time Pass? IL38