At the Edge of Time: A New Look at Reality, Time, and Meaning

At the Edge of Time is a startling new addition to the body of literature called reality theory. Donald W. Jarrell contends that there are two realities, one a virtual reality of time and space and a second reality beyond time and space. Many philosophers and physicists agree that time is only an illusion. The author takes this notion one quantum leap forward, using findings of quantum mechanics and neuroimaging to show that both time and our everyday world are illusions, that what we experience as time and space is an impenetrably real virtual reality. It may seem not appropriately scientific to take a theory of reality—the dual reality theory—and apply it to other areas of our world, as the author does, before the theory has been proven by experiment. Upon reading the book, it will be clear that, as with the hypotheses of dark energy and dark matter, it is not possible to definitively prove or disprove the theory; the universal laws of physics very effectively prevent this. The author, therefore, has chosen to turn that usual approach on its head. If the dual reality theory is correct, it should serve to explain our world in ways that allow us to understand, to change, and to accurately predict events. And these changes and predictions are themselves subject to testing by experiment (either of the laboratory or thought variety). The theory has been used, in At the Edge of Time, to explain phenomena such as time, wave function collapse, the space-traveling-twin saga, the many-worlds interpretation, Bell's theorem, particles in superposition, the holographic universe, and gravity. The author also has used the theory to explain some phenomena which scientists are frequently reluctant to write about, such as dreams and hypnosis. These were included because the theory should, if correct, shed light on these phenomena as well. The dual reality theory, in the opinion of the author, will enable the reader to understand phenomena that were opaque or not fully explained using other theories. Whether the theory does in fact serve this purpose is for readers to decide.