Universe 2.0

UNIVERSE 2.0 offers a bold new unifying theory which might overcome the current impasse in physics and cosmology. The author starts by redefining time. Time appears integral to our lives, from catching a train to cooking an egg, and we measure it on multiple scales, from the universe's 13 billion years to the nanoseconds of atomic events. Time feels real to us, but Dr Williams claims it is not. Rather than time being a fundamental component of the universe, he proposes that it is a human artifact: the past and future are products of our minds - there is only now. Dr Williams provides a rational alternative to the concept of time and explains why most forms of so-called time travel are impossible, even nonsensical. The author proposes a new theory of gravity in which it results from a push rather than a pull force. He also reinterprets Einstein's Special and General Relativity in terms of motion not time, where time dilation at high speeds or high gravity becomes 'motion dilation'. In doing so he proposes that 'empty' space consists of a medium called the Cosmic Matrix. Dr Williams extends this to propose an alternative to the origin of the universe which is prima facie more plausible than the Big Bang. Instead of all matter in the universe being created from empty space ('no...thing') or a singularity, he suggests it arose from 'space' appearing inside an infinite solid called 'no-space' - the author's alternative Big Crack theory. In its new form, the author links time to information. He proposes a remarkably simple and yet universal definition of information which works for things as disparate as bees, brains, DNA and computers. Life is discussed in relation to information, and it is explained how life rescued the universe from stagnation by giving rise to an explosion in informational patterns on which the future opportunities of the universe depend. Dr Williams suggests our role in this future is not guaranteed, and we may have to cede our dominant control of information to the next AI infused digital phase.