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Not a ramble at all, Goatfire. It was the subject of an interesting work of fiction called "Flatland". Check it out some time.
Time does not exist as we think of it. We think of time as some linear dimensional thing that progresses in a direction, yet we have no basis for such a concept as we cannot truly gain perspective on time. We are the 2D critter in the 2D world, as you say.
The most interesting fallacy in the time concept is the idea of the present, and that we exist in the present with the past 'behind' us and the future 'ahead' of us. We do not exist in the present. We cannot perceive the present as it does not exist for us. We perceive sensory imput (if you accept the various terms at all) only as quickly as the information reaches our brains and is processed. In other words, we operate on data that is a few microseconds old once we get it, then a few milliseconds old once we process it for comprehension. We exist ever so slightly in the past, but do not perceive it as such.
I wrote an extensive paper on this as the subject for my thesis in college. The greatest moment of my presentation and defense was watching my professors argue with each other over my paper. They were more interested in the questions I brought up than in firing off questions at me. It was the onlyt ime in my college career that I really felt like I'd accomplished something. Then they got past it and started grilling me right hard, so the feeling didn't last for long.
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