Time slows down for observers moving at great speeds, according to the theory of special relativity. When we, as observers in our frame of reference with respect to motion, see something or someone falling into a black hole, we perceive that they are accelerating, until at the black hole’s horizon they reach the speed of light. However, someone who is falling in feels it quite differently. When they reach the horizon, they perceive themselves as sitting still forever at the horizon. Time has, for them, virtually disappeared.

How do we know that we are not in that state already? We feel quite comfortable in our frame of reference, while “actually” (whatever that means), we are already in the grip of an unavoidable catastrophe.