Alex McColgan

And time is important.

Without time, our 3D space wouldn't move.

It would perpetually be in one state, because it's time that allows us to move about in it.

But why can't we see it?

Why can't we look in the direction of time?

To explain this, let's look at the difference between the different dimensional spaces.

We best notice this when we consider what 2D objects might look like if they were to move around in 3D space.

This is where we start to delve into the model.

Let's begin by visualising a standard 3D space, but because we want to eventually see all of space and time in one model, let's cheat a little.

Let's compress all of 3D reality as we know it into a flat, two-dimensional place.

In this plane, let's make that our XY plane, which we will label space, which frees up the Z dimension for time.

In this model, all 3D people are now just 2D.

A 2D person could exist and live their lives in the place marked space at the bottom of our chart.

However, by moving them up on the chart at a constant rate, they are also moving through time.

Let's for ease and convenience say that the top of our diagram is the future, while the bottom is the past.

So the higher up our 2D person goes in this diagram, the older they get.

As we don't seem to have a whole lot of control over our ability to travel through time, let's imagine for a second that our 2D person travels upwards at a constant rate, as if there is some consistent force or wind at play pushing them upwards towards the future.

Sadly, we cannot slow down time for ourselves simply through willpower, no matter how much we might want to do so.

However, it is misleading to say that we can't change it at all.

The faster we travel in space, the slower we travel in time.