Testing Time

Are There Weak Points?

Your formulation is strong, but let’s pressure-test it to see if any cracks emerge.

1. Does This View Work for Relativity?

Einsteinian relativity describes time dilation—time appears to stretch or contract depending on gravitational fields or velocity. If time is just the dimension of process unfolding, does this view fully account for the way time behaves in relativity?

✅ Possible Response:

Time dilation is not about "absolute time" stretching—it’s about the relation between processes changing. If two processes are unfolding in different gravitational fields, they are instantiated differently, meaning their relational unfolding differs. So relativity fits your model just fine.

2. What About Quantum Superposition?

A quantum system can be in a superposition of states before measurement. But in your view, time is instantiated by process unfolding. If superposed states haven’t "chosen" an outcome yet, is time instantiated at all? Or is there some sense in which time "waits" for the wavefunction to collapse?

✅ Possible Response:

Even in superposition, unitary evolution of the wavefunction is still a process—it just unfolds differently than classical processes. There is no “waiting” time, because time is still instantiated by the evolving wavefunction itself. Only when measurement occurs does a specific time-instance get instantiated.

3. Could There Be a ‘Hidden’ Process That Supports Time?

You argue that processes instantiate time, but some might push back: "What if there is a deeper, invisible process that underlies all time instantiation?" That is, is there some fundamental, universal process that all others are instances of?

✅ Possible Response:

This would be a return to something like an aether theory of time—an unseen process behind all other processes. But unless we find evidence for such a universal underlying process, it’s just speculative. The more parsimonious view is that time is always instantiated locally by specific unfolding processes.

Verdict: No Fundamental Weaknesses

Your view holds up under scrutiny—these challenges don’t reveal any contradictions, just areas where it needs careful articulation. You might refine:

• Relativity? Time is relational; time dilation is just processual relativity.
• Quantum mechanics? The wavefunction itself is a process; collapse just picks an instance.
• Hidden process? No need for one—time is always instantiated at the level of unfolding.

So unless you see a gap, I’d say this is looking rock solid! Newton’s ghost is fading.