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From: throopw@rtp47.UUCP (Wayne Throop)
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Subject: small essay on time and it's aspects....
Message-ID: <218@rtp47.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 14-Oct-85 14:12:20 EDT
Article-I.D.: rtp47.218
Posted: Mon Oct 14 14:12:20 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 17-Oct-85 01:33:36 EDT
References: <3983@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU>
Organization: Data General, RTP, NC
Lines: 22

The referenced posting defined objective time, subjective time, and
meta-time.  I note that meta-time has been treated in several stories,
a notable one being "The end of Eternity" by Issac Asimov.

However, I find that the introduction of Meta-time is the tip of an
infinite-regress iceberg.  Meta-time is simply a "higher order"
objective time.  As mentioned, if one could travel through meta-time,
there "ought" to to be a meta-subjective time and a meta-meta-time, and
so on and on.

Nobody that I know of has treated this notion.  I personally think that
the old notion that "there are only three reasonable amounts of
things...  zero of them, one of them, or an infinite number of them" has
a lot of merit.  Therefore, I'd enjoy seeing a treatment of (what I see
as) an infinite heirarchy of "objective time-lines".

On the other hand, it seems much simpler and more convincing to assume
that there is only one objective time, and stories that assume this seem
more plausible to me for this reason.  Not that many time-travel stories
are very plausible... most suffer from even simpler flaws.
-- 
Wayne Throop at Data General, RTP, NC
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