The Start of Time and Sleep

the start of time and sleep:

"was there a start of time? and if there wasn't a start of time, what does that mean? that there was always something that happened before any time? it's mind boggling."

"well, if there were an infinite time before now, you'd think we'd be more advanced, right? but what do we mean by the start of time? in the sense that nothing came before the start in the way that time progresses now with something happening before each moment? i can see that in one sense it really doesn't matter as everything that has time is always changing and probably repeating itself, so what difference does marking the start of time make? maybe it's an interesting footnote, you know, like a flag, but nothing more."

"no, it's definitely more than that. doesn't it bug you? also, if there were a start of time, it naturally follows thinking there might be an end of time."

"it's a little paranoid. and it does bug me too. first you're afraid, right, that there was no start of time, that we're already infinitely old, yet we can't remember anything, and next, if there were a start of time, that just brings up the question of the end of time, but thankfully i don't think it necessarily logically follows."

"OK, so there could be a start of time but no end?"

"right. and maybe, you know, it's not even the right question. maybe the question is, is change, or the number of states something can have over all time, is that infinite or finite? i mean there are other questions apart from whether there was a start of time or not."

"so it's like looking at time as a set of different states and it sort of goes back and forth? so if i had a bag of say five different marbles, each marble represents a different state, and obviously there are only five states, that represents all time for the marble in general."

"right. so one of the marbles is the state at the start of time and as general universal time progresses it becomes that marble again and again, perhaps."

"like to touch home base again. so if say we were at the start of time, were we awake or were we asleep?"

"i think we were mostly awake, as we are awake most of the time, right? but i think it could have been somewhere in the middle, when we are wide awake nowadays, that's an extreme position, and likewise, when we're deeply asleep, that's another extreme position, we were born somewhere in between."

"it's just i can't remember what happened even a few minutes ago sometimes or what i was thinking, let alone what happened at the start of time!"

"no, some things can change in an instant, sometimes there is no gradual in between. maybe change is discrete, not continuous."

"what do you really think? was there a start of time?"

"i do think, yes, there was a start of time. anyway, it's easier to think about."

"the realness of progress does suggest to me there was a start of time, i guess. do you think the truth is easier to think about? how awake do you think you were born?"

"i guess fairly awake but more like in a dream. you know, maybe the wide awake stable world is something that came later. i mean, maybe it's not original."

"some people are afraid to go to sleep, and i guess some people are afraid of staying awake too long. maybe you're right, the wide awake world is not that natural because it's different from the beginning but it seems the most real sometimes."

"awake, asleep, dreaming, it's all real. the problem is you forget what happens when you're asleep so it only seems less real."

"what we were talking about before, it's faster. dreams seem to last for hours but are really only minutes long, that kind of thing. it's shocking how easily you forget what happens in your dreams."

"it's like a balancing act. sleep is seen as the solution to being awake too long, but i guess likewise being awake may be the solution to being asleep for so long. both reset things."

CLEARCHARGE