Time Is A Construct

(my son's reply to a question about 'having time to do something'. Yep, it got me thinking and eventually led to this blog entry.)

Question: Is "time" an abstract mental construct or does it exist independent of human consciousness?

I do believe that time exists. (Good job, because it's part of the title of this blog!!!) There are even verses in scripture that scholars say tell us that God created time, and that he lives independently of it. I came to that conclusion a while ago, and here's the blog post I wrote about it at the time, here. Star Trek fans will doubtless understand, have a read...

Another popular saying is: "Time doesn't exist, only clocks exist." Aah, now I believe you are on to something. Because it's really the way that we 21st Century humans relate to clocks that cause us so many problems. 

Because it is our clocks who tell us when we need to wake up, when we need to go to work, when it’s time for lunch, when we really should go to sleep. 

And there are so many of us who don’t do those things when we want to, we do them when others have determined they should be done.

Someone asked me an honest question the other day. "How did man ever exist without clocks?" Simple. They got up when it was daylight, and went to bed when it got dark. 

Want to get less stressed? Take that watch off your wrist for a little while...

Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so - Douglas Adams, The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Patience! You've got all the time in the world - whether a thousand years or a day, it's all the same to you. - Psalm 90:4, The Message translation.