Time and Impermanence

On Clock Time and Psychological Time

When do we describe something as “Permanent”? Usually, it involves time. The “Permanent” thing endures unchanged across time.

For example, a “Permanent Resident” has permanent home rights to some place. A “Permanent Secretary” never gets fired from a ministry. A “Permanent Art Collection” is a museum’s for eternity. At least in theory.

In practice, whenever we talk of “Permanence” of a thing, we compare it to another thing. A “Permanent Resident” is permanent relative to a resident on (say) a temporary visa. The former is more permanent relative to the latter. But not in an absolute sense. A PR might lose their PR for (say) violating regulations. A “Permanent Secretary” never serves forever. In the end, they have to retire. In practice, permanent is not relative to eternity. But relative to the people in the ministry who are not permanent. Like a minister, or secretary of state, who changes with the government in power. A “Permanent Art Collection” is relative to those works that are (say) on loan.

Hence, it seems that “Permanence” is always relative to “Impermanence”. We don’t have a notion of the former not relative to the latter.

But then, where does time come in?

Clock Time

All our notions of time involve an interplay of Permanence and Impermanence.

For example, the earth revolves around the sun. This pattern is permanent. And from it, we derive our notion of a “year”. And we measure many impermanent things relative to the “year”. Our harvest might fail, but the earth will still circumlocute the sun.

“Day” is a similar concept. Even the Caesium Atomic Clock assumes that photons transition atoms in”permanent” patterns.

But what if these patterns are not absolute? We know they are not absolute. From Relativity Theory. But these “relative differences” are not detectable in practical life. We can’t perceive that a clock travelling at speed keeps different time to one at rest.

But from experience, we know. That clock time seems to travel at different speeds at different “times”. When bored, time almost stops. When entertained, time runs at light speed.

Psychological Time

We noted that “Permanence” is always relative to “Impermanence”. Hence, to see something as “Permanent”, we need to be aware of those other things that are “Impermanent”. The less change we observe, time slows down. More change and time speeds up.

For example, when bored, nothing seems to happen. Or when nothing seems to happen, we bore. At these times, time stops. Conversely, when we are “entertained”, things are “happening”. And tempus fugit. Waiting for no man.

This alternative definition of time is not relative to “objective” phenomena. Like a revolving or rotating earth, or caesium atoms. It is purely subjective. Depending on what the observer observes.

“Objective” clock time might seem “objective”. But there is a problem. All these “objective” things need to be subjectively observed. There is no “objective” way of observing “objective” things.

Concluding Fantasies

Imagine you’re sitting in a silent room. Nothing moves. Nothing sounds. Except for a clock. That ticks, and its second hand jumps in small increments. Nothing changes. Except for the clock.

What if we remove the clock from the room? Does time stop?

Now, imagine the opposite. Suppose you had super-human powers? Senses with which you could sense “everything”. To the movement of every subatomic particle.

That silent room would transform into a hive of activity. Between the ticks of the clock, there would be an infinity of happenings. And even that tick, that movement of the second hand, would not be a single event. But an infinity.

If such complete and perfect observation was possible, would time exist? Would permanence exist? Would ignorance exist?