This paper proposes a conceptual framework for thinking about physical reality, observational perspectives, and the role of time. Its core elements are: (i) a single absolute physical reality described by global states Wτ; (ii) a family of local universes Ri(τ), representing the coarse-grained realities inhabited by reduced observers; and (iii) a hypothetical super-observer S∗, conceived as a logical device that has access to the complete structure {Wτ} and to all local universes simultaneously. Time is treated as an index on global states in a block-universe spirit; for S∗ there is no “flow” of time, only an ordered structure of states. We also introduce, more tentatively, a conjectural epistemic gap based on granularity for reduced observers, and a methodological stance on the default reliability of perceptual and measurement mechanisms against the background possibility of large-scale deception or simulation. Philosophically, the framework deliberately recasts and unifies ideas from scientific realism, perspectival realism, the “view from nowhere”, structural realism, B-theories of time, and sceptical scenarios. We do not claim to introduce new metaphysical primitives, nor to solve canonical problems such as the quantum measurement problem or the interpretation of relativity. The contribution is more architectural: to offer a clean triple (Wτ,S∗,{Ri(τ)}) and a set of explicit commitments within which questions about observers, time, reality, and simulation can be posed in a unified idiom, with illustrative (but non-technical) sketches of implications for physical science.
This paper proposes a conceptual framework for thinking about physical reality, observational perspectives, and the role of time. Its core elements are: (i) a single absolute physical reality described by global states Wτ; (ii) a family of local universes Ri(τ), representing the coarse-grained realities inhabited by reduced observers; and (iii) a hypothetical super-observer S∗, conceived as a logical device that has access to the complete structure {Wτ} and to all local universes simultaneously. Time is treated as an index on global states in a block-universe spirit; for S∗ there is no “flow” of time, only an ordered structure of states. We also introduce, more tentatively, a conjectural epistemic gap based on granularity for reduced observers, and a methodological stance on the default reliability of perceptual and measurement mechanisms against the background possibility of large-scale deception or simulation. Philosophically, the framework deliberately recasts and unifies ideas from scientific realism, perspectival realism, the “view from nowhere”, structural realism, B-theories of time, and sceptical scenarios. We do not claim to introduce new metaphysical primitives, nor to solve canonical problems such as the quantum measurement problem or the interpretation of relativity. The contribution is more architectural: to offer a clean triple (Wτ,S∗,{Ri(τ)}) and a set of explicit commitments within which questions about observers, time, reality, and simulation can be posed in a unified idiom, with illustrative (but non-technical) sketches of implications for physical science.
What if global time is not a fundamental axis of the Universe, but an emergent scale of the observer? This paper presents LTST — Local Time Synchronization Theory. The central claim of LTST is that the primary level of physical reality is not space, global time, or particles, but local times of processes and the structure of their synchronization. Physical objects are interpreted as stable attractors of local times, space as a secondary structure of stable relations between such attractors, and energy as a measure of reconfiguration between synchronization regimes. The key idea is that the Universe does not possess an external clock already synchronized with the observer. What is usually called global time is interpreted in LTST as the scale of a high-level observer-attractor. Observation is not treated as a passive registration of a pre-existing reality, but as a physical act of synchronization that turns a possible configuration into a manifested event. LTST does not reject the existing mathematical apparatus of physics. The equations of mechanics, electrodynamics, thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and cosmology continue to work within their domains of applicability. What changes is their ontological interpretation: after introducing local time, these equations can be read not only as descriptions of objects moving in a given space-time, but also as projections of deeper synchronization processes. This approach offers a different perspective on quantum uncertainty, the role of the observer, scale irreducibility, and cosmological difficulties. Instead of relying on quantum mysticism, persistent paradoxes, or premature explanatory entities, LTST proposes to understand physical reality as the manifestation of possible configurations through the synchronization of local times.
This project investigates the emergence of time from a fundamentally timeless description of the universe. Rather than assuming time as a primitive background parameter, we study the physical and informational conditions under which temporal ordering, dynamics, and irreversibility appear for an observer embedded in the system. The core of the framework is a unified relational formula—extending the Page–Wootters mechanism—that shows how three traditionally distinct aspects of the “problem of time” arise from the same operational structure: (i) quantum dynamics from conditioning on physical clock states, (ii) the thermodynamic arrow from partial access to environmental degrees of freedom, and (iii) observer-dependent time from the locality of the clock subsystem. Crucially, the framework does not modify unitary quantum mechanics, introduce collapse postulates, or assume a fundamental flow of time. All temporal features emerge from projection, partial trace, and normalization applied to a single global atemporal state satisfying a Hamiltonian constraint. The project includes analytical results, numerical simulations (implemented in QuTiP), pedagogical companion notes, and philosophical analysis. Together, these components support a central claim: time is not a property of the universe itself, but a property of restricted descriptions generated by physical observers with limited informational access. This OSF repository serves as a living container for the formal development, conceptual interpretation, and future extensions of this observer-dependent approach to temporal emergence.
AbstractLoophole-free Bell experiments have conclusively demonstrated that non-local correlations are a fundamental property of physical reality. Within the Minkowskian framework of Special Relativity (SRT), the relativity of simultaneity renders the temporal ordering of spacelike-separated events inherently frame-dependent. This creates a conceptual inconsistency for any ontologically realist interpretation of quantum mechanics: if measurement outcomes correspond to objective physical events, then the absence of a preferred foliation leads unavoidably to contradictory causal histories or retrocausal influences. In this work, we formulate a Conditional No-Go Theorem showing that Ontological Realism, Linear Causality, and Fundamental Lorentz Invariance cannot all hold simultaneously. Preserving a coherent causal structure therefore requires relinquishing Lorentz invariance as a primitive spacetime symmetry. We propose Absolute Simultaneity Theory (AST), a framework in which Lorentz covariance emerges thermodynamically from a quantum vacuum treated as a structured medium in equilibrium. Drawing on analogies with condensed-matter systems—particularly Volovik’s superfluid vacuum paradigm—we show that a preferred rest frame, plausibly identified with the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) frame, is fully compatible with the empirical success of SRT. In AST, local Lorentz symmetry arises as a stability condition of the underlying vacuum dynamics rather than as a fundamental geometric postulate. This reconceptualization allows quantum non-locality and relativistic kinematics to coexist within a unified, time-ordered ontology.
This paper develops an extension of Existential Realism, a philosophical framework that distinguishes existence (what concretely is in the present moment) from reality (the broader causal–structural domain that includes past events, causal relations, informational traces, and structured future possibilities that are real but not presently existent). We synthesize core ideas from the original Existential Realism framework—ontological emergence, entanglement, temporal asymmetry, dimensional collapse, and the notion of a “dimensionless source”—and push them into new conceptual terrain. Time is placed at the heart of ontology: the present moment is the locus of existence, continually generating new actuality from prior reality. Past and future are real (with causal efficacy and structure) yet lack present existence. We explore how this two-tiered temporal ontology can accommodate key features of modern physics and metaphysics. In particular, we argue that ontological emergence at each moment provides a genuine arrow of time and a solution to the puzzle of how determinate events arise from an indeterminate backdrop. Quantum entanglement and nonlocal correlations, far from undermining a temporally oriented realism, instead hint at a deeper layer of unity “beneath” spacetime—a layer we articulate as a dimensionless source of reality. The dimensionless source is defined as a non-spatiotemporal relational structure encoding the informational constraints under which spatiotemporal events emerge through sequential actualization. It contains the informational constraints and lawful relations governing the generation of successive present states of the universe. We propose that spacetime and its separations emerge from this atemporal, aspatial ground, such that phenomena like entanglement and wavefunction collapse reveal the traces of a more fundamental order where spatial distance and temporal succession are secondary. Throughout, we connect these ideas to contemporary debates in quantum foundations (e.g. the measurement problem and objective collapse theories), philosophy of time (presentism, eternalism, and the reality of becoming), and speculative metaphysics (structural realism and process ontology). The result is a comprehensive, present-centered realist ontology that aims to reconcile the lived reality of time’s flow with the insights of modern physics, suggesting new avenues for understanding causality, identity, and agency in a dynamic universe.
This paper proposes a unified conceptual framework in which the universe is modeled as an infinite-sided “dice,” where each side represents a possible state of reality within a complete underlying state space analogous to a universal wavefunction. In this model, all possible configurations coexist at the level of Ultimate Reality, with no preferred outcome or collapse. Observers are treated as limited subsystems of this total state space, accessing only restricted projections of the whole, which gives rise to the appearance of definite outcomes, probabilistic behavior, and sequential time evolution. Within this interpretation, quantum mechanics describes the structure of the full possibility space, while perceived wavefunction collapse is reinterpreted as a perspectival restriction rather than a physical reduction of states. Quantum entanglement reflects global coherence across the total system, and relativity emerges from observer-dependent slicing of a consistent underlying reality. The many-worlds interpretation corresponds to the coexistence of all branches within this infinite state space. Collectively, these perspectives are treated as complementary descriptions of a single unified framework rather than competing theories.
Modern physics has achieved extraordinary predictive success, yet it continues to face unresolved conceptual tensions concerning the role of the observer, the nature of information, and the origin of physical structure. From quantum measurement to cosmology, the assumption of an observer-neutral reality increasingly appears insufficient to fully account for empirical phenomena and theoretical inconsistencies. This manifesto proposes an Informational Observer-Centered Framework, in which information is treated as a fundamental ontological substrate and observation as an active, structured process rather than a passive act of measurement. Within this perspective, physical systems, observers, and informational exchanges form a unified dynamics, where state reduction, decoherence, and emergent classicality arise from informational interactions and constraints. Rather than introducing a new closed theory, this manifesto establishes a conceptual foundation unifying several complementary models—including Informational State Dynamics, observer-dependent informational compression, and informational interpretations of quantum and cosmological phenomena—into a coherent research program. The framework is explicitly non-dogmatic, open to falsification, and intended as a guiding structure for further theoretical development and empirical testing. The aim of this document is not to replace existing physical theories, but to clarify their conceptual boundaries and propose an integrative lens through which unresolved problems in quantum foundations, cosmology, and cognitive systems may be systematically explored.