Why you perceive time the way you do is easy enough. At any "point" in time your brain (or any physical system for that matter) is influenced by the points before it. Play around with cellular automata and it kind of gives you a sense of how time can be viewed as a dimension similar to space.
>Are the laws of logic always true in every possible universe? Could there exist a universe where p|^p is not always true? One where the ratio of a circle's circumference and diameter is not equal to pi? I guess these things would be impossible to imagine, but is logic just a description of reality, or is reality an implementation of logical axioms?
The laws of logic are true in all possible universes (according to logic.) Can you imagine a universe where 1+1=3? Where someone has one object, and puts it next to another object and suddenly he has three objects? It just makes no sense. The "laws" of logic are not laws in the sense that things like physical laws are laws.
The question of time is deeper than this. Why is it that your brain or for that matter any physical system is dependent on it's previous configurations? Why is it that there is such a thing as previous? The mathematical descriptions of reality we have devised are symmetrical in time...
I can imagine a universe where alternate number like systems are more appropriate as heuristics for day to day living. Why should every universe be easily described through isomorphisms to the infinite cyclic group? Why could a universe not be more easily understood (compressed) within the minds of it's inhabitants with systems which are non-abelian groups? Perhaps you could say that there can exist no universes where intelligent beings can exist which contain aspects which are compressible using such systems. But you would have to prove it.
I think the arrow of time question is very interesting, I would love to see and understand an answer to this before I die.
>Are the laws of logic always true in every possible universe? Could there exist a universe where p|^p is not always true? One where the ratio of a circle's circumference and diameter is not equal to pi? I guess these things would be impossible to imagine, but is logic just a description of reality, or is reality an implementation of logical axioms?
The laws of logic are true in all possible universes (according to logic.) Can you imagine a universe where 1+1=3? Where someone has one object, and puts it next to another object and suddenly he has three objects? It just makes no sense. The "laws" of logic are not laws in the sense that things like physical laws are laws.