Fwd: [Hidden assumptions] Robert A. Wilson commented on Time is triangular

[Doug Mounce]

This mathematician I follow, who has been trying to account for experimental results by arguing that gravity affects all quantum measurement, had an interesting insight about time.  Don't know if it helps, but I've never heard such a novel idea about how to configure time as a geometry.  

"Time is triangular

"In order to quantise time, it is necessary to distinguish past, present and future. The simplest way to do that is to quantise time with triangles. Each triangle has a vertex labelled past, a vertex labelled present, and a vertex labelled future. Where two triangles are adjacent, either they share the same past and future vertices and have different presents, which means that something happens as you pass from one to the other, but time stands still; or one triangle lies in the future of the other, so that the edge they share is labelled with present and future in the “past” triangle, and with past and present in the “future” triangle. In the latter case, time passes, but nothing happens.

"Now you can tessellate 2-dimensional time with triangles, so that there is a 1-dimensional “arrow of time” that points from past to future in every triangle. An individual “timeline”, however, can wander around a bit in the quantum world, so that time does not flow uniformly. But on average, everything that exists moves from the past to the future, and everything that happens moves from the future to the past. A straight line in the time plane, in the direction of the arrow, corresponds to the passage of time in a universe in which nothing happens. Everything that happens, happens in the present – it cannot happen anywhere else. While it happens, time stops, because the past and future vertices have not moved, but as soon as it has happened, time moves on again.

"Often things happen in pairs: a left-handed triangle is reflected into a right-handed triangle, as something happens in the present. The next moment, the right-handed triangle is reflected back into a left-handed triangle. But there are two possibilities: either it moves on to a third triangle, just by the passage of time, without anything happening. Or it can be reflected sideways again, back where it came from, so that something else happens. The two events are linked together in Triangular time, which means they are also linked together in Cubic space. An example is the decay of a muon. First thing that happens, is a (left-handed) muon neutrino is emitted. Second thing, a (right-handed) electron antineutrino is emitted. Result: the muon has become an electron. The record of the event is split between the left-handed neutrino and the right-handed antineutrino.

"Other examples involve photons, which can also be emitted in pairs, typically one with vertical polarisation and the other with horizontal polarisation. Again, the distinction between horizontal and vertical polarisation is analogous to the LH/RH neutrino distinction, and if we only consider time without space, then it is not just an analogy, it is an equality. The difference lies only in the relationship between Triangular time and Cubic space.

"Anyway, the point about the passage of time is that it can only happen by the oscillation between left-handed and right-handed triangles. So the minimal quantisation of spacetime is as a Triangle plus a Cube. Space and time are linked together by the fact that the triangle group is a quotient group of the cube group. Now everything that happens can be quantised in terms of the tensor square of T+C, which is a copy of the group algebra (24-dimensional) plus a spare scalar. This 24-dimensional algebra is a complete model of everything, and all that remains is to interpret it. All existing theories are different interpretations of different bits of this 24-dimensional algebra, that quantises everything."

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https://staff.washington.edu/mounce/

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From: Hidden assumptions <commen...@wordpress.com>
Date: Thu, Oct 9, 2025 at 2:26 AM
Subject: [Hidden assumptions] Robert A. Wilson commented on Time is triangular
To: <doug....@gmail.com>

Robert A. Wilson commented: " I believe it is. It allows you quantise (literally) everything. " Hidden assumptions New comment! Robert A. Wilson just commented on Time is triangular. In response to rdmounce: Wow, that triangle analogy is quite an insight! I believe it is. It allows you quantise (literally) everything. Reply Like You can also reply to this email to leave a comment. Great posts worth seeing from Robert A. Wilson: You cannot shield your experiment from gravity The cube Speechless Want less email? Unsubscribe or modify your Subscription Options.

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[David Bibby]

Dear Doug,

Thanks, this is interesting; I've spent some time drawing triangles on paper!

I'm not really qualified to judge, but my impression is that Wilson is setting up parallel universes (1D timelines side by side) in which the quantum timeline moves about. The test will be how well it accounts for experimental results in terms of completeness and explanatory value.

A couple of comments where he says in the final paragraph, "This 24-dimensional algebra is a complete model of everything, and all that remains is to interpret it." It seems to me how to interpret it is exactly the problem: it may be a beautiful abstract system, but knowing how to apply it in all concrete cases (he does say "everything") raises more questions than answers. I also think "model of everything" is going too far; even if it does account for all physical phenomena we can verify in space and time, it cannot account for consciousness or prove cognitional theory, unless we take the reductive line that our minds are nothing more than quantum events in 24 dimensions. To take that approach would be to deny intelligence and reasonableness, but Wilson is using mathematics as a sign of his own intelligence and reasonableness. His practise contradicts his own theory.

Kind regards,

David

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