Read more: “About time: Adventures in the fourth dimension“
AMONG the concepts through which science tries to understand the world, time has an unmatched reputation for depth, mystery and paradox. Yet it is also one of the most familiar features not only of the sciences but of everyday life, and seems unproblematic for most practical purposes. “What then is time?” asked St Augustine in the 4th century. “If no one asks me, I know; if I wish to explain it to one who asks, I know not.”
In many ways, there has been enormous progress in understanding time since Augustine’s…
