This book, titled "The Order of Time," was released in April and explores how we perceive time and why its absence feels like a reality on various scales, whether microscopic or macroscopic. Rovelli emphasizes that chronology and sequence are merely stories we tell ourselves to understand our existence.
Perspective on Time
According to Rovelli, time is not a universal truth but merely a perspective shaped by evolution, biology, and our position on Earth in the context of the entire Universe. "From the perspective of beings located in a limited part of the world, it seems that everything flows in time," he explains. However, at the quantum level, time intervals are so small that they cannot be divided, which calls into question the very existence of time.
The scientist adds that there is actually nothing that can be called an object. The Universe consists of many events, and even a seemingly static stone is a process occurring at such a speed that we cannot capture it. It is constantly transforming and will take on another form in the future.
"In the elementary grammar of the world, there are neither spatial nor temporal processes," he says. "There are only processes that transform physical quantities into one another, allowing us to compute possibilities and relationships." Rovelli asserts that the order of time is, in fact, just an illusion created by the unique entropy of Earth. We perceive the world as ordered, moving from past to present, linking causes and effects, but this is merely a result of our perception.
In reality, the Universe is much more complex and chaotic than we can imagine. People often base their understandings on simplified descriptions, ignoring the multitude of other events and possibilities. These limitations create a distorted or incomplete sense of order that does not reflect the whole picture.
Rovelli emphasizes that we "blur" reality to focus on it, thereby limiting our perception. "Time is ignorance," he concludes.
What Does This Mean?
If this sounds abstract, that's because it is. However, there are simple examples that confirm that time is a flow, not a fixed reality. For instance, if you are looking at the planet Proxima b through a telescope, the "now" on that planet does not coincide with the "now" on Earth. The light you see is information about what happened on Proxima b four years ago. "There is no single moment on Proxima b that corresponds to the present here," Rovelli explains.
This may seem strange until you remember how it works, for example, during an international phone call — you are in New York talking to friends in London. When their words reach you, several milliseconds have passed, and "now" is no longer the same as when your interlocutor said, "Now I can hear you."
It is also worth noting that time does not coincide in different places. A person in London always perceives the day differently than a person in New York. It is morning for you, but already evening for them. The same time is only possible in limited territories, and this phenomenon has emerged relatively recently.
For example, in the 19th century, when the era of railroads began, "noon" was the same in New York and Boston. Before that, each locality used its own time based on the position of the sun. "Noon" was determined by its height in the sky, and in different places, it occurred at different times. Only by the 20th century were time zones introduced, but this decision was driven by practical needs rather than laws of nature.
Rovelli adds that time passes differently depending on altitude: at the top of a mountain, it flows faster than at sea level. The hands of clocks also move at different speeds depending on their position. Moreover, time can seem slower or faster depending on your activities — minutes in a boring lecture can feel like an eternity, while hours at a party can fly by unnoticed.
All these differences confirm that "times are legions," as the physicist says, and none of them provides a complete description of time as a whole.
"Time is a multilayered and complex concept with many different properties," Rovelli explains. A simple understanding of time works in our everyday lives but is completely inapplicable for describing the Universe in its infinity and complexity.
Time as a Story
Although physics reveals the mysteries of time to us, Rovelli asserts that this understanding does not always satisfy humans. What we perceive as the flow of time is the result of randomness, naivety, and the limitations of our consciousness.
According to him, what we consider the flow of time is a mental process occurring between memory and expectation. "Time is a form in which we, beings whose minds consist mainly of memories and predictions, interact with the world," he writes.
Ultimately, time is the story we tell ourselves at every moment. It is a collective act of self-reflection and narrative based on our perception of events and anticipation of the future. This story shapes our sense of identity, as many neurologists, mystics, and physicists testify.
Without memories and expectations, we would not perceive the flow of time and would not know who we are. In this sense, time is an emotional and psychological experience. "It is weakly connected to reality," Rovelli says, "but mainly it is what happens now in our consciousness."
