I recently read a book called Einstein’s Dreams by Alan P. Lightman. This book talks about different interpretations of time in different worlds. It imagines Einstein dreaming about different scenarios of time sitting at his desk. This book is a collection of various short stories of different versions of time. Normally, I do a book review in a typical format but this book demands me to think differently. So I have picked up a few key themes on different interpretations of time from the book and I thought of adding my two cents on those themes – and applying them to our world. How would it look, let us find out.
Theme 1 – Suppose time is a circle, bending back on itself.
- The world repeats itself, precisely, endlessly. In a world in which time is a circle, every handshake, every kiss, every birth, every word, will be repeated precisely.
- Each day resets itself. You don’t remember the past and you don’t have thoughts about the future. You repeat the same actions every day but they are fresh for you. You are oblivious to this reset. Which day you prefer to relive-fresh for the rest of your existence?
- Well, for me it has to be the birth of my son. I feel I have lived a lifetime of emotions in that day. The day started way early in the morning. 3 am to be exact. Tests, doctor’s consultations, a lot of paper signing – that is how my day started. “her age is a factor” phrase was repeatedly echoed by the team of doctors. I was confident about the decision I took to operate her yet, my heart was beating like drums throughout the morning. There was a lot of waiting. Her c-section operation was delayed. Each passing moment felt slower. I was constantly anxious about my wife’s health. I kept on praying while I waited outside the operating theater for the well-being of my family. Eventually at 10:45 a.m. On the 24th of June 2024, I became a father. But I still needed confirmation on my wife’s health. The next 20 minutes were excruciatingly long. I was really happy for my son but I was also equally worried for the well-being of my wife. Eventually, she was moved out of the operation theater and back into the special care ward, where I met her. Imagine a firecracker hurling towards the blackness of the sky. It is moving with a lot of pressure to reach the highest point of the ascendance before bursting into multiple colors, painting the black sky with colors. That’s exactly what happened to me when I saw my wife and my son. My mother was beside me when I held my son for the first time. My wife was lying on the bed on the other side of me. Carefully holding my son in my arms, I cried with joy hugging my mother. That’s the exact day. I wouldn’t mind reliving fresh every day till the time exists.
Theme 2 – Each future moves in a different direction of time. Each future is real.
- Just as an object may move in three perpendicular directions, corresponding to horizontal, vertical, and longitudinal, so an object may participate in three perpendicular futures.
- Some decisions are the hardest to make. Because like in this theme, certain decisions have the capability to alter our course of life.
- For example, for going to the office you have three options. By walking, using the bike, or using the car.
- In one version of the world, you go by walking. While walking on the footpath, a car rushes through a puddle. It sprays mud all over your white clothes. You reach the office looking disgusted and mess up an important client presentation. This leads to an escalation and you miss your shot at a promotion.
- In the second world, you choose a bike as a mode of transportation. While weaving through the traffic oblivious to your speed, you, nick a car’s side view mirror. It was an expensive mirror so the owner of the car winds down the window and hurls abuses at you. You smile back as you quickly rush ahead in the traffic. You share this incident, share a laugh with your colleagues, and end up having the entire team in a good spirit. The client presentation goes really well and you end up getting an appreciation mail that secures your promotion.
- In the third world, you’re traveling in a car. When the signal clears, hurriedly you press the accelerator to the floor and end up going fast through a pool of mud. It spreads across all the passersby. You share a smile as you zoom past them. At the next signal, an idiot bike driver, while cutting between the two cars, nicks your right-side mirror. You wanted to stop the car and grab the throat of this man but the signal clears and you have to move on. He soon disappears in the rush hour, leaving you feeling empty inside as your precious car is damaged. You start worrying about the possible repair cost for this expensive broken mirror. You managed to go through the day without attracting any more work toward you.
- In all these scenarios in different worlds, you can be the reason for or you can be the outcome of the situation. Although this is a fictitious scenario, I find it really powerful to use when we are trying to forgive someone. If your decision has ended up giving you happiness, be grateful for that happiness because, in some other worlds, you might be leading a miserable life. If certain situations in your life have caused you pain, remember to let go because, in some other worlds, you might have created those situations that are painful for others. If someone has caused you pain in this world, there exists another where you might have caused pain to someone else.
Theme 3 – For in this world, time does pass, but little happens.
- Time is associated with change, but what if with time nothing changes? I find this possibility unbearable. I can’t imagine being stuck in a world where nothing changes. Let me explain why.
- You see many times in my life, time was racing against me but for once, I thought it acted as an ally. The date was 14 Nov 14. I was impatiently waiting with my eyes closed, praying to hear some good news. All my relatives were huddled around me. I realized that the ICU door was opened as a gush of cold air brushed against my feet. I opened my eyes to see a doctor with absolutely 0 expressions. All he said was the name of my mama. My mama walked in with the doctor inside the ICU. Within a few minutes, he came out with hung shoulders. The news spread like wildfire throughout the hospital. I could hear my brother wailing, banging his fist against the wall of the ICU. Without hearing, I knew what was it all about. My father has left us.
- I felt as if I was sinking into an ocean of pain. I could not breathe; I could not move. At that very moment, while I was sobbing, I knew everything was finished. No tomorrow can come which can make me forget this pain. This pain will be with me for life and will consume the rest of my life. But time passed, days turned into months, seasons changed and even though the pain is still there, I have learned to live with it, learned to manage it. Only with time, I was able to learn how to cope with the pain.
- If time had not passed, if everything had remained the same, I would still be grappling for a breath in the ocean of pain.
Theme 4 – The world will end on 26 September 1907. Everyone knows it.
- How would you react if you knew when the world was going to end? We live in endless optimism. We plan our lives as if we will live here for hundreds of years. We have investments running into multiple decades. But what if there was a time and date given to you when the world would cease to exist? How will you react? What will you do? Would you really spend your remaining time working? Would you save money like the way you now? Would you hackle for one extra rupee with a vegetable vendor? Would you wear your best clothes every day?
- Would you try to read every book or would you just go and meet all your friends and family members? Would there be any meaning to the education system? Would there be chaos or a peaceful acceptance of the end? Surely the current rules of the world will not apply but can there be any form of harmony? If the death of the world was 100 years in the future or just 20 years down the line, how would society behave? All these questions have filled my mind to which I don’t have any concrete answers. If you have some, I’d love to hear your version of the answers.
Theme 5 – There is a place where time stands still.
- Raindrops hang motionless in the air. The pendulum of clocks floats mid-swing. For this is the center of time. From this place, time travels outward in concentric circles—at rest at the center, slowly picking up speed at greater diameters.
- If you knew such a place where time stands still, what would you do? Say there is a place in India where time stands. Still. You can go by car until 5 km away from the place. Since then, you have to walk. As you start coming close to the center of time, things start becoming heavy. With unwavering determination, you pull every muscle strength in your body to go as close as possible. Slow and steady, you continue to put one step after another. You can see the time has slowed down but it has not yet paused. You continue to push. Once you reach the center, everything pauses. You are alive but time has paused. When will you make that pilgrimage towards the center of the time? Whom will you carry with you so that you are not alone when the time pauses?
- Currently, my son is 1 and 1/2 years old and he’s extremely cute. I’m grateful that I have my mother, my brother, and his family to share this joy. Since the death of my father, I am always worried about the impending future. Something unfavorable. I will convince all of them to come with me towards the center of time. I will pause the time with all of them near me at arm’s length. We will be there forever, paused in time without any worry of the future, forever stuck in the present.
So, those were my thoughts when I finished the book. Of course, there are many more scenarios in the book but I picked up a few of my favorites. Hoping after reading this article, you are encouraged to pick up Einstein’s Dreams book and read it. When you do, please do let me know your set of favorite themes of interpretation of time.