"Space, the final frontier."
Actually space isn't the final frontier, time is. Aside from A Brief History of Time and Time's Arrow there just aren't that many books on the subject. After all this time, there is no equation in physics that shows the flow or passage of time. Does time flow at all? Or was Steve Miller right - that time keeps on slippin' slippin' slippin' into the future?
Another rather peculiar thing, IMHO, is that we live in the "present," timewise; yet if one slices up time into thin enough slices, there is no "present" time, no what we call "now" - there's only what we call the "past" and the "future." Just when you think you can grab onto the present, it's too late - it's already in the past!
Finally, for any science and sci-fi buffs, here's an excerpt from the short story, "Do Super-Toys Last All Summer Long?" by Brian Aldiss that was the inspiration for the Kubrick/Spielberg movie, A.I.:
David was staring out of the window. "Teddy, you know what I was thinking? How do you tell what are real things from what aren't real things?"
The bear shuffled its alternatives. "Real things are good."
"I wonder if time is good.
I don't think Mummy likes time very much. The other day, lots of days ago, she said that time went by her. Is time real, Teddy?"
"Clocks tell the time. Clocks are real. Mummy has clocks so she must like them. She has a clock on her wrist next to her dial."
David started to draw a jumbo jet on the back of his letter. "You and I are real, Teddy, aren't we?"
The bear's eyes regarded the boy unflinchingly. "You and I are real, David." It specialized in comfort.
