Thursday, 15 January 2026

From Spacetime to Temporal Jelly: Bridging Einstein’s Cosmos and Davidsonian Consciousness

 





Peter Davidson - Broccoli - eye tracking and delay 
Pencil, texta, pastel on paper
20 cm h x 12 .5 cm w 


From Spacetime to Temporal Jelly: Bridging Einstein’s Cosmos and Davidsonian Consciousness

1. Introduction

Einstein’s equations elegantly describe how matter and energy warp spacetime, accurately predicting planetary motion, gravitational lensing, and cosmic expansion. Yet, these equations operate at a macroscopic level, assuming continuous spacetime and neglecting the cognitive mediation through which humans perceive the universe. Peter Davidson’s Temporal Jelly Integration Model provides a complementary framework, emphasizing that the present is unattainable and that conscious experience is always shaped by internal delays. 

For example, in studio praxis for drawing or painting there is only the future, delay after the optics and history being the spatial paint marks or drawing trace on canvas or paper. there is no such thing as present time its a continuous flow energy (which i have called jelly) from the future through optic delay (without time but with influence into history. 

Note on Intent: This essay is not an attempt to make art scientific. Rather, it utilizes the framework of physics equations to describe the profound role of delay within studio praxis. By applying these formalisms, we can better articulate how the artist navigates the gap between thought and mark, using the language of the cosmos to map the internal "jelly" of the creative process.

“The equations below are not proposed to be a testable physical law, but as a conceptual diagram using mathematical syntax to articulate temporal integration in lived experience.”

2. Einstein and the Cosmos

The core of General Relativity (GR) is:

Gμν+Λgμν=8πGc4TμνG_{\mu\nu} + \Lambda g_{\mu\nu} = \frac{8 \pi G}{c^4} T_{\mu\nu}

Here, GμνG_{\mu\nu} encodes spacetime curvature, and TμνT_{\mu\nu} encodes energy-matter content. Einstein’s genius was to show that gravity is not a force but geometry.

  • Predictive success: Gravitational waves, Mercury’s orbit, and GPS corrections.

  • Limitations: Singularities and the quantum realm expose GR’s incompleteness. At scales below the Planck length, spacetime may be discrete, rendering continuous equations only approximations.

"The 'two circles' analogy—representing Einstein’s brain generating the equation in one circle and the physical reality of spacetime in the second—perfectly captures this gap. The delay between conceptualization and manifestation mirrors General Relativity’s lack of absolute simultaneity. In studio praxis, the future motif seen by the artist moves through an inherent delay before it becomes a spatial mark on the canvas. Because of this, the 'idea' and the 'creation' can never exist at the same time. Delay is the fundamental space in between that prevents simultaneity, acting as the 'jelly' that structures our experience of reality."

3. Temporal Jelly Integration Model

Davidson reframes perception as inherently delayed and constructed. His model decomposes total delay into:

  • Δtbody\Delta t_{body}: sensory and motor integration

  • Δtmind\Delta t_{mind}: cognitive interpretation

  • Δtart\Delta t_{art}: artistic or deliberate representation

All conscious experience ECE_C is a jellied integration:

EC=∫[∂PW∂t⋅f(MRet,MPro)]d(Δttotal)E_C = \int \left[ \frac{\partial P_W}{\partial t} \cdot f(M_{Ret}, M_{Pro}) \right] d(\Delta t_{total})

Where PWP_W is raw world input, MRetM_{Ret} memory, MProM_{Pro} predictive projection, and Δttotal=Δtbody+Δtmind+Δtart\Delta t_{total} = \Delta t_{body} + \Delta t_{mind} + \Delta t_{art}.

This formalism recognizes that experience and artistic creation are outcomes of delayed processing, integrating past and anticipated future.

4. Bridging Physics and Cognition

Einstein’s GR is objective, external, modeling the universe independently of perception. Davidson’s framework is subjective, internal, modeling how brains stabilize chaotic sensory inputs across time.

  • GR describes external causal delay (speed of light, curvature of spacetime).

  • The Jelly Model describes internal cognitive delay, which mediates all perception and action.

Hopefully this essay insightfully argues: just as GR is correct within its domain, a Davidsonian Temporal Equation is necessary to model consciousness. It captures the “space within the two circles” — the internal dynamics of thought as it manifests in reality, memory, and art.


5. Conclusion

Einstein and Davidson reveal complementary truths:

  1. External universe: GR maps matter-energy to spacetime geometry.

  2. Internal universe: Davidsonian Temporalism maps delay, memory, and prediction to conscious experience.

Revealing that in both cases, the present is unattainable. Physics and art converge: delay is the primordial medium, stabilizing experience, informing action, and inspiring creation. Einstein’s equation is correct by its rules; Davidson’s temporal equation is correct by its domain — together they suggest a richer, layered understanding of reality, bridging cosmos, consciousness, and artistic expression. And “Perhaps reality itself is a jelly — layered, delayed, and endlessly unfolding.”  .


“The Temporal Jelly Integration Model is a conceptual framework developed by the author.” “Hypothesis of Davidsonian Temporalism, Temporal Non-Presence, and the Jelly Metaphor: A Unified Framework”

https://2dogsartspaceakashi.blogspot.com/2025/12/hypothesis-of-davidsonian-temporalism.html

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