by Matthew Tyler Funk

Created on: November 01, 2007

Time is an ineffective mechanism of measurement, as it attempts to portray one's progress on an infinitely long line. Since the line is infinite, progress cannot be calculated or assumed.

A line is finite. A circle is infinite. If the universe is infinite, then its dimensions must be infinite; and if time is a dimension, that makes time infinite. That means there can be no beginning and no end of time, and like the impossibility of a physical center of the universe, it would be impossible to find the center point in time. As infinity, the universe and all of its dimensions defy definition.

Let's try to break time down to its very smallest fraction. In order for something to have a beginning and an end, it must be finite, and in order to be finite, it must be whole and complete. For something to be complete it must have fractions of itself that can be completely accounted for.

So anyway, we're breaking time down to its smallest part. We want to define "moment." Here is the entry for the term 'moment' from dictionary.com:

moment - noun

1. An indefinitely short period of time; instant: I'll be with you in a moment.
2. The present time or any other particular time (usually prec. by the): He is busy at the moment.
3. A definite period or stage, as in a course of events; juncture: at this moment in history.
4. Importance or consequence: a decision of great moment.
5. A particular time or period of success, excellence, fame, etc.: His big moment came in the final game.
6. Statistics the mean or expected value of the product formed by multiplying together a set of one or more variates or variables each to a specified power.
7. Philosophy.
a. an aspect of a thing.
b. Obsolete an essential or constituent factor.

We're only interested in definitions 1-5 here as we are studying what fraction of time a moment is. Each of the definitions either defines a moment as an "indefinite," or implies a moment is indefinite except the 3rd definition, which deals with history. History is a product of the concept of time, it is not supporting evidence of time's existence. Also, the definition dealing with history does not define the length of a moment the amount of "time" a moment represents. The "definable" moment referred to in this definition is defined not by a length of time, but by certain events and circumstances which give a historical event its context.

If we were to take a picture with a camera, would that be a moment? What shutter speed are we using? Could technology be considered infinite?

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