What is Time? Stephen Wolfram’s Groundbreaking New Theory

What is time? Is it just a ticking clock, or is it something more profound?

In this thought-provoking episode of Into the Impossible, Stephen Wolfram challenges everything we know about time, offering a revolutionary computational perspective that could forever change how we understand the universe.

Stephen Wolfram is a computer scientist, physicist, and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research and the creator of Mathematica, Wolfram Alpha, and Wolfram Language. Over the course of 4 decades, he has pioneered the development & application of computational thinking. He has been responsible for many discoveries, inventions & innovations in science, technology, and business.

He argues that time is the inevitable progress of computation in the universe, where simple rules can lead to complex behaviors. This concept, termed computational irreducibility, implies that time has a rigid structure and that our perception of it is limited by our computational capabilities. Wolfram also explores the relationship between time, space, and gravity, suggesting that dark matter might be a feature of the structure of space.

Tune in to discover the true nature of time.

Key Takeaways:

00:00:00 Intro
00:00:51 The true nature of time
00:24:42 The role of computational irreducibility in thermodynamics
00:29:52 The Ruliad and the nature of observers
00:53:28 The role of gravity in the computational universe
01:06:14 Dark matter and the discreteness of space
01:12:54 Paradigm shifts in science and technology
01:20:18 Exploring the cosmic microwave background (CMB)
01:31:32 Outro

Additional resources:

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[DrBrianKeating]

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[WinrichNaujoks]

So he finally figured out what time is. Now he just needs to figure out a way to explain it to me in a way I can understand it.

[tinman]

There was a young lady named Bright
Whose speed was much faster than light
She departed one day
In a relative way
And returned on the previous night

[marshalmcdonald]

Then there is that ol' definition--time is nature's way of prohibiting everything from happening all at once. I like that one.

[earthstick]

Being a cyclist, I have been knocked off my bike by cars a few times. On one occasion I can recollect fragments of the incident as it happened, but not nearly as much as I know I experienced as it happened. I describe my recollection as having a memory of a memory. It was one of those moments where time seemed to slow down. But I prefer to think of it as my awareness speeding up, so that I was aware of more happening in a short period. After the incident, my awareness slowed down to the normal pace, therefore I quickly forgot all the small details. It is as if there is a speed of time, and my awareness increased to approach it. Isn't that an example of time dilating with increased speed, and Stephen's theory here? If our awareness was fast enough, we would see everything at once, and time would not exist.

[RWin-fpjn]

Penrose would say 'time is inverse mass' because we need to substitute E=hf into E=MC2 to understand mass is the CLOCK function in the QP world. And as a logical consequence, we must also now understand that in or macro world inverse time serves as INERTIA. So mass is just frozen time as an object property. Frozen because its vector is orthogonal to the vector of time as the entire QP world is orthogonal (inverse) to spacetime. So if you need to change the speed of object A that has twice the mass of object B, we need to overcome twice the amount of frozen time which takes twice as much time. Suddenly mass is not so mysterious now, is it? We need to rethink...

[shimtest]

thanks for having Wolfram on. his ideas are compelling, he is a trained physicist, but his ideas are too often ignored

[julioguardado]

I think the "universe as a state machine with simple rules and time being a by-product" theory has occurred to everyone who has studied computer science. The problem is no one has laid out the rules that lead to our the irreducibility we observe.

I hope Wolfram can come up with something that's tangible.

[rohan.fernando]

Wolfram's explanation of time dilation is pure genius, and the implications of what he's _actually saying_ about our Universe are just staggering to seriously consider.

[jamesstaggs]

I see time as nothing but movement. It's observing things change their position. We keep time by comparing where one object is in relation to another.

That's basically what he's saying just with more flowery language. When he speaks of computations in the future he means the way in which this object will move (again) in relation to another computation. If all matter suddenly stopped moving time can't be observed. The more points of reference we have with which you can compare them the more precise the measurement of time becomes end the easier it is for us to observe it's happening. That's why isolation tanks warp our sense of time. All we have is our heartbeat and our thoughts to tell time with

[juliemarty]

I love how dryly he says the answer will be 42. I barely even noticed. Now I need to reexamine my life and check for any other references I missed.

[reporeport]

i literally love stephen wolfram, so glad to see him doing the circuit again

[maccabeus]

Time is separation, not computing.
Computing is assembling, combinig, thats the opposite.

[ctsirkass]

I had no idea about Wolfram's work but it's just incredible and refreshing at the same time. As a computer scientist I have always perceived time and space as relations through a network graph. As such I always believed that everything that we perceive as time is just our inability to see the whole picture which would be that everything is already happened and we are just living in a moment where it's impossible to "see" the future. The concept of computational irreducibility is just remarkable and explains everything.
Best physics interview I have seen in years. I loved it! ❤

[vjfperez]

Wolfram is as far as I know the only guy who is coming up with genuinely new ideas and interesting viable frameworks to unstuck fundamental science

[Srvelis]

When it comes to GR and QM I am definitely computationally bounded.

[codename]

What he's saying is that basically, the universe is an application. An executable with X amount of 'bytes.' Something fixed, without past or future. But we're stuck/connected to the iteration and sequence of this application's routines. We're mid-execution, and to us, many things seem random because we can't set breakpoints and view (from outside) the variable states at that instant and the next. We can't properly debug the program and comprehend all the rules. This limits our vision and perception. A broader perspective would be to see everything happening (or potentially happening) simultaneously

[doglabdogtraining-gus.]

Brian, please we need a second part of this conversation, thank you, great as always.

[quantumkath]

As we advance into a new era of physics, I believe that Stephen Wolfram's work will undoubtedly be referenced and acknowledged.

[KeldonA]

Stephen is incredible.

Everything he says is so above my paygrade, yet he explains it in a way that you can at least follow and appreciate.