Page 774 - Atlas of Creation Volume 3

Because every event is
shown to us in a definite se-
ries, we think that time al-
ways moves forward. For
example, a skier always
skies down a mountain, not
up it. A drop of water does
not rise up from a pool, but
always falls down into it. In
this situation, a skier's posi-
tion on a mountain is in the
past, while his position
down the mountain is the fu-
ture. However, if the infor-
mation in our memories
were to be displayed in re-
verse, as we would rewind a
film, what is for us the fu-
ture, that is the downhill po-
sition, would be the past and
the past, that is the uphill
position, would be the fu-
ture.

This example
shows that our knowl-
edge about the rate at
which time passes de-
pends on references

which change accord-
ing to the person who
is perceiving it.

This is an example
of how under different
circumstances a per-
son perceives the
same amount of time

as longer or shorter. Here is another example. For a person who is waiting for his brother to come out of an
operation, one hour seems like several. But if the same person is doing something he really enjoys, he can-
not understand how the hour passed so quickly.

Einstein scientifically established the following fact in his "General Theory of Relativity": The rate at
which time passes changes according to the speed of a body and its distance from the center of gravity. If
the speed increases, time decreases, contracts, moves slower and seems that the point of inertia approaches.
Let us explain this with one of Einstein's thought experiments. Suppose that there are two twin broth-
ers. One of them stays in this world, the other goes on a space journey during which he travels almost at the

speed of light. When he returns from space, he will find that his twin brother is much older than he is. The
reason for this is that the time passed much more slowly for the brother who went on the space trip. The

772 Atlas of Creation Vol. 3