Time Cube was a pseudoscientific personal web page set up in 1997 by the self-proclaimed "wisest man on earth", Otis Eugene "Gene" Ray.[3] It was a self-published outlet for Ray's "theory of everything", also called "Time Cube", which polemically claims that all modern sciences are participating in a worldwide conspiracy to teach lies by omitting his theory's alleged truth that each day actually consists of four days occurring simultaneously.[4] Alongside these statements, Ray described himself as a "godlike being with superior intelligence who has absolute evidence and proof" for his views. Ray asserted repeatedly and variously that the academic world had not taken Time Cube seriously.[5]
 The layout and writing style of the Time Cube website | |
Type of site | Personal web page and conspiracy blog |
|---|---|
| Created by | Otis Eugene "Gene" Ray |
| Commercial | No |
| Launched | 1997 |
| Current status | Inactive[a] |
The website registration expired in August 2015.[1]
Website
The Time Cube website did not have a home page as such.[3]
A large amount of self-invented jargon is used throughout, often never defined. In one paragraph, Ray claimed that his own wisdom "so antiquates known knowledge" that a psychiatrist examining his behavior diagnosed him with schizophrenia.[6]
Adi Robertson of The Verge commented that Ray's theory of time is "an incredibly confusing one peppered with racism and homophobia".[1]
Time Cube concept
Ray's personal model of reality, called "Time Cube", states that all of modern physics and education is wrong,[4] and argues that, among many other things, Greenwich Time is a global conspiracy. He uses various graphs (along with pictures of himself) that purport to show how each day is really four separate days—SUN-UP, MID-DAY, SUN-DOWN, and MID-NIGHT (formerly morning, early afternoon, late afternoon, and evening)—occurring simultaneously.[3][5]
The following quotation from the website illustrates the recurring theme:
When the Sun shines upon Earth, 2 – major Time points are created on opposite sides of Earth – known as Midday and Midnight. Where the 2 major Time forces join, synergy creates 2 new minor Time points we recognize as Sunup and Sundown. The 4-equidistant time points can be considered as Time Square imprinted upon the circle of Earth. In a single rotation of the Earth sphere, each Time corner point rotates through the other 3-corner Time points, thus creating 16 corners, 96 hours and 4-simultaneous 24-hour Days within a single rotation of Earth – equated to a Higher Order of Life Time Cube.
Ray offered $1,000[7] or $10,000[5] to anyone who could prove his views wrong.
Reception
Ray spoke about Time Cube at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in January 2002 as part of a student-organized extra-curricular event during the independent activities period.[8] He repeated his $10,000 offer for professors to disprove his notions at the event; none attempted it.[5] John C. Dvorak wrote in PC Magazine that "Metasites that track crackpot sites often say this is the number one nutty site."[4] He also characterized the site's content as "endless blather."[4] When asked by Martin Sargent in 2003 how it felt to be an Internet celebrity, Ray stated that it was not a position he wanted, but something he felt he had to do as "no writer or speaker understands the Time Cube."[9] Ray also spoke about Time Cube at the Georgia Institute of Technology in April 2005, in a speech in which he attacked the instruction offered by academics.[10]
In 2005, Brett Hanover made Above God, a short documentary film about Ray and Time Cube.[11] The film was likely named after one of Ray's websites, which criticized the idea that God exists.[12] Hanover's film won awards for Best Documentary at the Indie Memphis Film Festival and the Atlanta Underground Film Festival.[13][14]
In popular culture
The song "To the End of the World" on Alestorm's 2017 album No Grave But the Sea makes several references to the Time Cube concept.[15]
The song "Time Cube" on Honest Bob and the Factory-to-Dealer Incentives' 2004 album Second & Eighteen contains excerpts from the Time Cube rant.[16]
Notes
References
External links
- Official website archived at the Wayback Machine on May 6, 2015
- Gene Ray interviewed on Tech TV