If time is infinite, how come the period that we inhabit is taking place right now?

I mean, come on! We are alive for, what, 80 years or so? In the grand scheme of things that is so infinitely tiny that it can barely be appreciated.





Is it merely coincidence that the period of time that we are alive during just so happens to be the period of time that the universe is currently undergoing? Or is there something deeper going on (and I do not mean religious wise - not sure what I do mean tho hence this question)?
If time is infinite, how come the period that we inhabit is taking place right now?
because time is infinite
If time is infinite, how come the period that we inhabit is taking place right now?
Haha, I dont think you are doing better with your second explanation either...





If I understood it any better (which I doubt) I guess the answer is that everything, no matter how improbable it is (or at least what we think it is) has the probability of 1. If you think about the coincidence of earth ever being created by chance when you are at the point of big bang, it is so remote that you can have monkeys type out a thesis on a typewriter, but earth did get created. Know what I mean? lol.
Reply:Physical processes always take place in the universe. The fact that the conditions *now* are the conditions that we live in, as opposed to another set of conditions, isn%26#039;t really relevant to anything.





Furthermore, despite the tiny fraction of time that we exist compared to a cosmic scale, it can still be appreciated. There is no nobody is measuring the significance of what we do based on how long we live. %26quot;Appreciation%26quot; is a reaction that is expressed by the finite being all around is, including ourselves. If we won%26#039;t be remembered a million years from now, then why would the opinions of people who won%26#039;t be born for a million, billion, or trillion years be relevant to us?
Reply:There seems to be some confusion about indexical terms written into your question.





An %26quot;indexical term%26quot; is one that has different meanings when spoken from different points of view, in cases where every use in on a par with every other use. The simplest example, %26quot;left%26quot; and %26quot;right.%26quot; If you and I are facing each other, my left is your right and vice versa. Neither of us is %26quot;wrong%26quot; about this.





A slightly more complicated example is %26quot;I%26quot; or %26quot;you.%26quot; If you and I are speaking, your %26quot;I%26quot; is my %26quot;you%26quot; and vice versa. Again, this is just a consequence of the way English-speaking people use the words.





Now, back to your question. It contans the word %26quot;now.%26quot; What does that mean? I submit that %26quot;now%26quot; is indexical. When you wrote the question, now meant THAT now. While I%26#039;m reading it, now means THIS now. Neither is wrong. Nor is the relativity especially profound. This is just a consequence of how we use the word.





Anyway, the period we inhabit is taking place right %26quot;now%26quot; because %26quot;now%26quot; is an indexical word that refers to the period we inhabit. Problem solved.





For a more mind-blowing speculation, consider the possibility that the word %26quot;actual%26quot; is indexical, too. Perhaps every possible world is on a par with every other possible world. This one is the %26quot;actual%26quot; one merely because it is the one we happen to inhabit.
Reply:There is a Japanese term called kuon ganjo. It means the beginingless past. The time we are alive is significant only in that we notice it. At another 10^15 years, we would notice something else and ponder that.
Reply:The time period we now inhabit is the one we say we do. In actuality, its meaningless. The universe isn%26#039;t undergoing anything its hasn%26#039;t gone through countless times before, and will continue to go through countless times after we die.
Reply:If time is infinite, what difference does it make if we live 8 years, 80 years, or 8 million years? Compared to infinity, they are all tiny!





I however, don%26#039;t believe time is infinite...time can%26#039;t exist if the universe exists...there would be no reference frame against which to measure time.
Reply:From your perspective, everything of importance will happen during your lifetime hence you ascribe significance to this portion of time.


From a universal perspective there is absolutely nothing unique or special about this 80-year blink of an eye.





It IS a coincidence that YOU are self-aware at this moment; people a century ago probably felt the same thing about the 19th century... I%26#039;m not sure if you are referring to anything in particular when you say %26quot;the period of time that the universe is currently undergoing%26quot; as I don%26#039;t see anything significant happening at the moment (from a universal perspective).





All of this is very similar to those around when we discovered the red shift and realised everything was rushing away from US - we must be very special! Then along came the expanding universe understanding wherein everything rushes away from everythign else such that all observers, no matter where they were in the universe, would all experience the same sense of being in the middle: True, but not significant!
Reply:it is now for us. it is the future to other people and the past to someone else. time is like a line it started somewhere and goes on forever.
Reply:First, nobody can say for sure that time is infinite. It%26#039;s commonly believed that %26#039;time%26#039; did have a beginning along with the rest of the known laws and physics of the universe. It%26#039;s quite possible %26#039;time%26#039; will have an end as well.





%26#039;Now%26#039; is everpresent. You cannot escape the %26#039;now%26#039;. So there is no coincidence in events occurring in the %26#039;now%26#039;. They had no other choice but to occur.





You can say that there is an infinite amount of possibilities awaiting to happen. But saying that infinite possibilities could have happened now, although was once true is no longer after the fact of it happening.





I do see what you are saying. But if you look at it in the way you are, it is an endless thought process that leads no where.





There are many different ways you could pose the same kind of question... %26quot;What are the chances that I would be born who I am rather than someone else?%26quot; But if I was infact born someone else I could still ask the same question. In the end you have no other choice but to born as you, just like what happens %26#039;now%26#039; had no other choice but to happen now. Any further thinking into the matter is a waste of a deeply thoughtful brain.