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Joe Rogan caused one of his recent guests to become stumped with a bold question, leaving a NASA astrophysicist unable to answer after delving into the concept and creation of time itself.
Some of the most challenging scientific questions often revolve around otherwise simple or established concepts, as while discovering something new or explaining a rare phenomenon is fascinating in its own right, getting to the bottom of how broader concepts function is much harder.
Time is at the core of everything that we do, with our daily lives dominated and determined by the rotation of a clock, yet few people actually bother to question what determines that concept and how it came to be in the first place.
Joe Rogan thankfully had that very same thought though, and he had the perfect guest on his podcast to try and answer his questions, with NASA astrophysicist Michelle Thaller offering her perspective on the matter.
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The conversation initially began when Rogan brought up being told that all time exists concurrently, which Thaller points out was a concept proposed by Albert Einstein.
"How fast are we going really," Thaller posits after outlining the different speeds that the world and wider universe is travelling at any one time, "and the only thing you can measure is how fast you're going relative to something else."
Eistein proposed that all of time and space exists in a 'big thing', as Thaller puts it, with the legendary physicist suggesting that the past, present, and future are 'persistently annoying illusions'.
That didn't yet get to the bottom of Rogan's line of thinking, however, as he asks a question that's likely to stump any physicist, no matter their capabilities.
"When we measure time, what exactly are we measuring?" Rogan proposed, to which Thaller admitted: "That's a deep, excellent question [...] That question that you asked is what completely revolutionized physics, everything fell apart."
Despite outlining Einstein's theory of time creation through the use of mirrors, lights, and spaceships, Rogan understandably still didn't quite get it, and Thaller somewhat shared his puzzlement.
"I don't think I have an answer for you, I don't think anybody does," she admitted.
This was one of the most interesting conversations I’ve had in a while.
— Joe Rogan (@joerogan) May 28, 2026
Michelle Thaller a wealth of fascinating information about space, time and all things the cosmos. And she’s an incredibly compelling speaker. These kinds of podcasts are some of my favorites… https://t.co/HK9uxge09m
Rogan himself responded to a now viral clip of the conversation on social media, revealing that "this was one of the most interesting conversations I've had in a while.
"Michelle Thaller [possess] a wealth of fascinating information about space, time, and all things the cosmos. And she's an incredibly compelling speaker. These kinds of podcasts are some of my favorites."
