Carlo Rovelli’s The Order of Time: The Most Comprehensive Book On Time So Far?

Is The order of Time the most comprehensive book on time ever published because the author tackles on the perceptual and descriptive aspects to the scientific definition of time?

By: Ringo Bones

According to the book’s author – theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli – time is an illusion: our naïve perception of its flow doesn’t correspond to physical reality. Unlike most recently published books on the nature of time authored by theoretical physicists, Carlo Rovell’s The Order of Time also has chapters explaining why Medieval pheasants understood time better than the average 21^st Century layperson, as in they understood time better than we do - even way better than 19^th Century economists and policymakers in fact. Rovelli says the railroad industry boom and the widespread adoption of trains were the reason for the standardization of time, like the establishment of time zones in the continental United States. In this book, Rovelli also states that the standardization of time eventually lead to Einstein’s discoveries. Even though the latest concepts on the nature of time is also discussed by Rovelli, he tends to return to Medieval era philosophers when referring to how the layperson perceive time like how time is tied to everything that makes us suffer and on how time shapes our identities.

Rovelli is one of the creators and champions of loop quantum gravity theory, one of the several ongoing attempts to marry quantum mechanics with general relativity. In contrast to the better-known string theory, loop quantum gravity does not attempt to be a “theory of everything” out of which we can integrate all of particle physics and gravitation. Nevertheless, the agenda of loop quantum gravity to combine these two fundamentally differing laws is incredibly ambitious. Along with his work on loop quantum gravity, Rovelli puts forward the idea of “physics without time”. This stems from the fact that some equations of quantum gravity (such as the Wheeler-DeWitt equation which assigns quantum states to the Universe) can be written without any reference to time at all.

Even though it is very insightful – i.e. the format of integrating classical education and scientific education’s ideas about time – I still have lingering doubts about Rovelli’s ideas on loop quantum gravity or the thermal time hypothesis. And even though this book seems to tackle every aspect or time from the metaphysical to the scientific, this book alone is unlikely to make the average reader as well-versed about time in comparison to say, William Penrose or the late Stephen Hawking or give them enough information to render judgment whether Rovelli’s views are on the right track when it comes to advancing humanity’s understanding on the true nature of time. Comprehensive so far – yes indeed, but I’d rather be more interested in a book as comprehensive as this, but one that tackles the still theoretical subject of sending information and data faster than the speed of light.

Should The European Union Abandon Daylight Saving Time?

Even though it was originally meant as an energy-saving measure to switch on street and road lights only when absolutely necessary, should the EU abandon Daylight Saving Time because of “debatable benefits”?

By: Ringo Bones

The EU is set to end the “quaint” practice of changing our clocks twice a year – i.e. Daylight Saving Time – in 2021, at least in some states. The European Parliament has taken another step towards freeing members of the bloc from the mandated change, but why is it taking too long? European Union spokesperson Alexander Winterstein has been the most vocal opponent of the EU still adhering to the “quaint practice” of Daylight Saving Time and legend has it that it was only as a bit of fun when that late-rising American statesman Benjamin Franklin proposed daylight savings time back in 1784 and for more than two centuries, it has been a topic of controversy.

The UK adopted Daylight Saving Time in 1916 along with many other nations involved in World War One in order to conserve coal used for electricity generation. It followed years of pressure from William Willett - the great, great grandfather of Coldplay singer Chris Martin, but the UK had its own debate about time zones. In 2011, Number 10 Downing Street proposed a three-year trial of moving to Central European Time, so the UK time would be GMT+1 in winter and GMT+2 in summer months. The change would have meant lighter evenings but darker mornings and one of the arguments for it was that it would reduce road accidents. But it was abandoned after opposition from Scotland and northern England, where some areas would not have seen daylight until 10 o’clock in the morning under the proposal.

Back around the end of August 2018, European Union Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said millions “believe that in future, summer time should be year-round, and that’s what will happen.” The EU Commissioner’s proposal requires support from the 28 national governments and MEP’s to become law. In the EU, clocks switch between winter and summer under Daylight Saving Time. In a recent EU-wide public consultation, 84-percent of the 4.6-million respondents called for the ending of the spring and autumn clock change. By far, the biggest response was in Germany (3.79-percent) and Austria (2.94-percent) of the national population respectively. The UK’s response was the lowest at 0.02-percent, but few Italians took part either with only 0.04-percent taking part. Most Europeans dislike the practice of Daylight Saving Time because some recent studies cited by the European Commission point to adverse health impacts from the clock changes as findings suggest that the effect on the human biorhythm may be more than severe than previously thought as clocks go forward by an hour on the last Sunday in March and switch back to winter time on the last Sunday in October.