Moments in Time is an example of art practice as research. It is a novel based on the 2nd law of thermodynamics and the notion that out of order comes disorder. It is also an example of science used in literature to question the mindset of modern science, and STEM thinking in general. Questioned is the European belief in the domination and control of nature. But more than this, the novel is also a literary exploration of time, where time is re-conceptualised, which by way of exegesis leads to the question of whether time is in fact linear, or a singularity, which combined with the work of Roger Penrose, who considers time as circular, could, if scientific dogma allows, lead to the exploration of time through its consideration as being linear, circular and a singularity, encompassing not just the scientific but also human meaning of time. In the novel you will also encounter quantum indeterminacy!
Moments in Time is an example of what art can do for science (re-conceptualise time) as well as for humanity, and this takes art way beyond the limiting restrictions that are imposed by the STEM community who are far too interested in exploiting art for the purposes of communication, visualisation and creativity. The message of Moments in Time is that, time is up for Western STEM thinking, and now is the moment to completely reinvent STEM. One thing is for sure though – most of those in the world of STEM will not like such a notion.
And as regards the storyline, Moments in Time, a novel about time and that which is timeless and that which is not, tells the story of Benjamin Woodward, an engineer, an icon of the modern world, who, believing that he creates order out of disorder, and that the risks can be managed, discovers, to his cost, that neither is true. Accidentally discovering a portal that leads from the early twenty-first century to 1750, he finds himself in a Britain on the cusp of the Industrial Revolution, and the dawning of the age of the industrial engineer. With growing but misplaced confidence, he sets about living life in two ages separated by over 250 years, but he encounters a mysterious voice that persistently warns him about the folly of his actions, but which he constantly ignores – as he does, too, the self-evident, unexpected consequences of his actions.
Gradually, however, the universe begins to teach Benjamin important lessons. These enable him, in the end, after he has destroyed everything that he values in both eras, to understand that he should have taken note of what the voice was telling him. And upon reaching the edge of doom, Benjamin realises what he needs to do to save himself from himself.
Moments in Time is a tale that comments upon the damaging values and beliefs of scientists, engineers and technologists, who, with their collective delusions, Darwinist perspectives, fragmented minds, vested interests, and their reductionist and mechanistic worldview, bear a significant responsibility for creating the madness of the modern world – insanities that threaten to condemn future generations to a bleak existence. The clear significance of the book is that it shows that it is possible to walk a different path if people are prepared to think and behave differently – a very timely message indeed.
