Classical and quantum framing of the Now

The trouble David Mermin is having with the concept of Now is similar to the problem that Plato, Aristotle, and Martin Heidegger had with the concept of being. Both have no meaning when considered as individual points; they are continuous entities and can only be understood as such. Heidegger pointed out that for most people, being and Now are self-evident. Apparently, it’s only physicists and philosophers who are embarrassed by their lack of understanding of such obvious concepts. According to Ockham’s razor, the simplest explanation is usually the best one. And Albert Einstein, who venerated simplicity, once said that the only reason time exists is “so that everything doesn’t happen all at once.” That statement may seem facetious, but it is a corollary of his equating of space and time.