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Putting Natural Time into Science

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From Astrophysics to Unconventional Computation

Part of the book series: Emergence, Complexity and Computation ((ECC,volume 35))

Abstract

This contribution argues that the notion of time used in the scientific modeling of reality deprives time of its real nature. Difficulties from logic paradoxes to mathematical incompleteness and numerical uncertainty ensue. How can the emergence of novelty in the Universe be explained? How can the creativity of the evolutionary process leading to ever more complex forms of life be captured in our models of reality? These questions are deeply related to our understanding of time. We argue here for a computational framework of modeling that seems to us the only currently known type of modeling available in Science able to capture aspects of the nature of time required to better model and understand real phenomena.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    While time as a parameter has been used in mathematical tools, this amounts to merely a representation of time.

  2. 2.

    Note that we have skirted the issue of how to measure time, and how to precisely determine a particular moment and its synchronous counterparts in other regions of the Universe. For now, we’d stick to classical time and assume a naive ability to measure it precisely.

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Acknowledgements

This essay was written on the occasion of the Festschrift for Susan Stepney’s 60th birthday. It is dedicated to Susan, whose work has been so inspiring and deep.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, A1B 3X9, Canada

    Roger White

  2. BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action and Department of Computer Science and Engineering, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Wolfgang Banzhaf

Authors
  1. Roger White
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  2. Wolfgang Banzhaf
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wolfgang Banzhaf .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Unconventional Computing Laboratory, University of the West of England, Bristol, UK

    Andrew Adamatzky

  2. Joint Quantum Centre, Durham University, Durham, UK

    Vivien Kendon

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White, R., Banzhaf, W. (2020). Putting Natural Time into Science. In: Adamatzky, A., Kendon, V. (eds) From Astrophysics to Unconventional Computation. Emergence, Complexity and Computation, vol 35. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15792-0_1

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