Time as an Object: Assembly Theory Redefines Time's Nature
Challenging conventional views, Assembly Theory, proposed by Sara Walker and Lee Cronin, posits that time is not an illusion or backdrop, but a measurable physical object with size and unidirectional flow. This theory, drawing parallels to Darwinian natural selection, quantifies selection by making time a property of objects, emerging only through evolution. Life, it argues, arises when the universe selects from an immense space of possibilities. Assembly Theory acts as a universal life detection system, measuring assembly indexes and copy numbers of molecules. The theory explains the existence of complex objects like computers and LLMs by positing that time itself, materialized through assembly processes, is the fundamental stuff they're made of. This revolutionary perspective holds significant implications for our understanding of life's origins and the universe's evolution.
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