Question

This is a final summary of my concerns. I've asked similar questions but this is a summary. I hope you clever people can alleviate my confusion and nervousness. Special Relativity says there is no meaningful notion of now. Now doesn't exist, it's not invariant but entirely observer dependent. Conscious experience, if assumed materialistic is a product of physical processes which happen over time. If there is no now is there any meaning to the question 'what are you thinking now?'. I gather hear on Earth there is very little difference between different observers. So we can pretty reasonably say what's happening now for you. Is it time we detached ourselves entirely from the importance of a now moment? Conscious experience like our own takes place over time. All obsevers have their own now delineated by the light cone structure. All observers nows are valid, so do we communicate through our own nows, sure physical processes happen in the universe but attributing a physically significant notion of now is not important. Does Special Relativity change how i should think of you and your identity, are you conscious irrespective of my reference frame. Should someone rationally worry about the implications of such a lack of a global now. Are my concerns unfounded. Are others conscious with me. Thank you You are quite wrong in saying that there is no meaningful notion of 'now' in SR. In SR all particles are travelling along timelines through a 4d spacetime. Each particle exists at a 4d point, which is the 'here' and 'now' for that particle. What SR does undermine is the idea that you can extrapolate 'now' from one point of space to all others simply by projecting out normal to your own time axis. Your concerns are entirely unfounded. Consider the concept of level. In London, level means a plane tangential to the surface of the Earth at London. In New York, level means a plane tangential to the surface of the Earth at New York. The two definitions disagree. Were you to extrapolate sea level in London to New York it would appear in New York to be a sloping plane thousands of metres above the city, and New York would be below London sea level. Does that have an effect on the consciousness of people in New York? Of course not. It is just a coordinate convention. Ten different people walking in ten different directions on Andromeda would label 'now' on Earth with ten different time stamps, but that again is just a labelling convention- it does not make any difference to our consciousness on Earth. What does Special Relativity suggest about the concept of 'now'?

a. There is a universal and invariant now.
b. Now is entirely observer-dependent.
c. Now is an illusion.
d. Both a and c.

Answer 1

Special relativity indicates that 'now' is observer-dependent and varies between different frames of reference, but this does not undermine the reality or significance of individual conscious experience.

Step-by-step explanation:

Special relativity, a theory developed by Albert Einstein, profoundly changed our understanding of space and time. According to this theory, the concept of 'now' is entirely observer-dependent. The question of 'what are you thinking now?' still has meaning for individual observers, as for each observer, there is a personal 'now' which is a point on their worldline.

However, trying to synchronize a 'now' between different observers, especially at relativistic speeds, is where relativity alters our perceptions. Rather than there being a universal 'now', each observer has their own set of experiences and frames of reference that defines their version of 'now'. Just as sea level varies based on geographical location, the notion of 'now' is specific to each observer's frame of reference.

Conscious experience and identity, according to relativity, are still valid concepts but are understood within the context of each observer's unique timeframe. The difference in perceived 'nows' across various frames of reference does not mean consciousness is lost or altered; it simply means that we experience events within our own spacetime locality.

The conceptual challenge posed by relativity is accepting that multiple perspectives can coexist, all valid within their own contexts. The answer to the question in the context of relativity is option b: Now is entirely observer-dependent.