Spacetime Interfaces

Locality: The Fundamental Constraint

Space and time are not just containers in which things happen. They are interfaces that constrain how systems can interact. Locality means that influences cannot propagate instantaneously; they are limited by the speed of light and the structure of spacetime itself.

As shown above, curved spacetime illustrates how mass and energy shape the very fabric of space and time, creating the interface that governs all motion and interaction. This visualization shows how massive objects warp spacetime, creating the paths that other objects must follow. The curvature itself is the interface, it constrains how objects can move, creating the structure of possibility that we experience as gravity. This is not a force acting at a distance, but the geometry of the interface itself.

This constraint is not a limitation to be overcome, but a fundamental interface that makes structure possible. Without locality, there would be no separation, no boundaries, no possibility of distinct systems.

As shown above, locality is the fundamental constraint that creates separation and enables distinct systems to exist. This illustration shows how influences are limited by the speed of light, creating light cones that define what can affect what. Events outside each other's light cones cannot influence each other, creating the boundaries that make separate systems possible. This is the most basic interface, the one that creates the framework for all other interfaces to operate within.

Causality and Structure

Spacetime interfaces create the conditions for causality. Events can only influence other events if they are within each other's light cones. This creates a structure of possibility: some interactions are possible, others are not, based on their spatiotemporal relationships.

As shown above, quantum entanglement presents a fascinating challenge to our intuitive understanding of locality. This illustration shows how entangled particles can be separated in space yet remain unified in their quantum state. While this seems to violate locality, it actually reveals a deeper truth: the interface operates at the level of the wave function, not at the level of individual particles. Entanglement shows that spacetime interfaces can create non-local correlations while still maintaining the causal structure that prevents faster-than-light communication, demonstrating the subtlety of how interfaces constrain possibility.

This structure enables the emergence of stable patterns. Systems can exist as distinct entities because spacetime interfaces prevent everything from being immediately coupled to everything else.

The Foundation for Everything Else

The first living cells did not need to invent locality. Space and time had already created it. They did not need to invent energy gradients. Thermodynamics had already created them. They did not need to invent stability. Physical interfaces had already created it.

Spacetime interfaces provide the fundamental framework that makes all other interfaces possible. They create the conditions under which biological, cognitive, and semantic interfaces can emerge and function.