You’ve never been so intoxicated that you “lose time”, and woken up wondering who you threw up on the previous night? You’ve never done any kind of hallucinogenic drug? You don’t … sleep?
I have in fact done at least two of the above three. (Perhaps if I slept I wouldn’t need to take drugs so often...)
But you’re taking my words too literally and missing my point. Indeed, it is very possible for me to fail to perceive time; I’ve done it before, and at some point I’ll do it forever. But the very fact that I can sit here, now, and talk about “before” and “forever” and “now” (and “I”) shows that I must be perceiving time. It is not possible that I am not perceiving time—unless I’m a zombie and not perceiving anything. But I’m pretty sure I’m not. And I don’t think you are, either, although I can’t prove it.
The sensation of time passing only seems to exist because we have short term memory to compare new input against.
That’s not the reason the sensation of time seems to exist—it’s the reason the sensation of time does exist. It is the very definition of the perception of time. As I said, this sensation may be an illusion, but it is also indisputably real, and it seems pointless (or rather, I don’t yet see the point) to say there’s no such thing as time simply because we can imagine a block universe or Barbour manifold or what have you.
You’ve never been so intoxicated that you “lose time”, and woken up wondering who you threw up on the previous night? You’ve never done any kind of hallucinogenic drug? You don’t … sleep?
I have in fact done at least two of the above three. (Perhaps if I slept I wouldn’t need to take drugs so often...)
But you’re taking my words too literally and missing my point. Indeed, it is very possible for me to fail to perceive time; I’ve done it before, and at some point I’ll do it forever. But the very fact that I can sit here, now, and talk about “before” and “forever” and “now” (and “I”) shows that I must be perceiving time. It is not possible that I am not perceiving time—unless I’m a zombie and not perceiving anything. But I’m pretty sure I’m not. And I don’t think you are, either, although I can’t prove it.
The sensation of time passing only seems to exist because we have short term memory to compare new input against.
That’s not the reason the sensation of time seems to exist—it’s the reason the sensation of time does exist. It is the very definition of the perception of time. As I said, this sensation may be an illusion, but it is also indisputably real, and it seems pointless (or rather, I don’t yet see the point) to say there’s no such thing as time simply because we can imagine a block universe or Barbour manifold or what have you.
Flags flap. Wind blows. Minds change. Time moves. We remember. It’s all the same thing.