Neither Time Nor Dice: A Conjecture on the Geometric Origin of Temporal Experience and Quantum Indeterminacy

Marco Masi

The "consequence argument", together with the "luck objection", which are summed up by the "standard argument against free will", state that if our volition were dependent on physical causally indeterministic processes, our actions would lack control and, thereby, result in random behavior that would be a mere matter of luck and chance. In particular, quantum indeterminacy is supposed to be of no use in support of libertarian agent-causation theories because any volitional act interfering with the probability distributions defining quantum laws would lead to its violation. Building upon recent conjectural work questioning this assumption (Clarke 2010, Kastner 2016, Masi 2023), it is shown, with a concrete example involving quantum indeterminacy, how a hypothetical agent with access to the temporal ordering of events can pre-determine the result of a process taking place in time without modifying the probability laws defining it. This conclusion is then taken as a basis for a libertarian panpsychist interpretative model.

Frank Arntzenius

Bahman Masarratbakhsh

This record presents a short, time-stamped research note proposing a clean control experiment aimed at clarifying the physical origin of recently observed quantum-metric-induced trajectory bending in quantum materials. While such effects are commonly interpreted as arising from geometric structure in Hilbert space, an open question remains as to whether an effective temporal or phase-delay contribution may act as the underlying generator of the observed metric. The proposed protocol isolates temporal phase modulation from spatial geometry by keeping particle trajectories and external forces fixed while varying only the effective phase, delay, or frequency associated with the quantum state. The experiment constitutes a null test: a positive outcome would indicate a temporal contribution to the effective metric, while a null result would strengthen a purely geometric interpretation. The proposal requires no new instrumentation and is compatible with existing solid-state platforms (such as oxide-interface two-dimensional electron gases), topological or quantum Hall interferometers, and cold-atom interferometric systems. This note is intended as a conceptual and experimental guide rather than a report of new data.

Dale Jacquette

Ilya Prigogine

Ishibashi, Toru

Abstract This paper develops a unified theoretical framework in which time is formulated as an intrinsic complex-phase rotation eiθeiθ within an imaginary extension of spacetime.In this formulation, the imaginary unit ii is not a mere mathematical symbol but the operator of indeterminacy, representing the undetermined future phase of physical existence, while the real component corresponds to the determined and fixed past.Temporal continuity arises from this internal oscillation, and both the light limit (v=cv=c) and the rest limit (v=0v=0) emerge as degenerate boundaries of the same rotation. This Complex-Time Geometry (CTG) provides a geometric basis that links quantum mechanics, relativity, and thermodynamics under a single structure.The flow of time is interpreted as a continuous projection Im(ψ)→Re(ψ),Im(ψ)→Re(ψ), transforming potentiality into actuality.Within this framework, entropy increase corresponds to the progressive fixation of imaginary freedom, and the arrow of time naturally arises as the geometric direction of realification.Measurement is redefined as a temporal projection from the imaginary to the real domain, resolving the conceptual gap between quantum indeterminacy and classical determinacy. The theory further interprets Schrödinger’s iℏ∂ψ∂t=H^ψiℏ∂t∂ψ=H^ψ as the mathematical manifestation of orthogonal evolution in complex time, where ii ensures reversible continuity.Ultimately, time is not an external parameter but the internal oscillation of existence itself—the mechanism through which the universe continuously writes its own history. Keywords complex-time geometry; temporal projection; quantum measurement; relativity; entropy; arrow of time; ontology of time; self-recording universe