Taking the Bull by the Horns

Einstein's Theories of Relativity and Gravitation by Albert Einstein, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here. Taking the Bull by the Horns

Taking the Bull by the Horns

The hypothesis of relativity asserts that there can be no such concept as absolute position, absolute motion, absolute time; that space and time are inter-dependent, not independent; that everything is relative to something else. It thus accords with the philosophical notion of the relativity of all knowledge.]283 [Knowledge is based, ultimately, upon measurement; and clearly all measurement is relative, consisting merely in the application of a standard to the magnitude measured. All metric numbers are relative; dividing the unit multiplies the metric number. Moreover, if measure and measured change proportionately, the measuring number is unchanged. Should space with all its contents swell in fixed ratio throughout, no measurement could detect this; nor even should it pulse uniformly throughout. Furthermore, were space and space-contents in any way systematically transformed (as by reflection in curved mirrors) point for point, continuously, without rending, no measurement [69]could reveal this distortion; experience would proceed undisturbed.]263

[Mark Twain said that the street in Damascus “which is called straight,” is so called because while it is not as straight as a rainbow it is straighter than a corkscrew. This expresses the basic idea of relativity—the idea of comparison. All our knowledge is relative, not absolute. Things are big or little, long or short, light or heavy, fast or slow, only by comparison. An atom may be as large, compared to an electron, as is a cathedral compared to a fly. The relativity theory of Einstein emphasizes two cases of relative knowledge; our knowledge of time and space, and our knowledge of motion.]216 [And in each case, instead of allowing the notions of relativity to guide us only so far as it pleases us to follow them, there abandoning them for ideas more in accord with what we find it easy to take for granted, Einstein builds his structure on the thesis that relativity must be admitted, must be followed out to the bitter end, in spite of anything that it may do to our preconceived notions. If relativity is to be admitted at all, it must be admitted in toto; no matter what else it contradicts, we have no appeal from its conclusions so long as it refrains from contradicting itself.]*

[The hypothesis of relativity was developed by Einstein through a priori methods, not the more usual a posteriori ones. That is, certain principles were enunciated as probably true, the consequences of these were developed, and these deductions tested by comparison of the predicted and the observed phenomena. It was in no sense attained by the [70]more usual procedure of observing groups of phenomena and formulating a law or formula which would embrace them and correctly describe the routine or sequence of phenomena.

The first principle thus enunciated is that it is impossible to measure or detect absolute translatory motion through space, under any circumstances or by any means. The second is that the velocity of light in free space appears the same to all observers regardless of the relative motion of the source of light and the observer. This velocity is not affected by motion of the source toward or away from the observer,]283 [if we may for the moment use this expression with its implication of absolute motion.]* [But universal relativity insists that motion of the source toward the observer is identical with motion of the observer toward the source.]283

[It will be seen that we are at once on the horns of a dilemma. Either we must give up relativity before we get fairly started on it, or we must overturn the foundations of common sense by admitting that time and space are so constituted that when we go to meet an advancing light-impulse, or when we retreat from it, it still reaches us with the same velocity as though we stood still waiting for it. We shall find when we are through with our investigation that common sense is at fault; that our fixed impression of the absurdity of the state of affairs just outlined springs from a confusion between relativism and absolutism which has heretofore dominated our thought and gone unquestioned. The impression of absurdity will vanish when we have resolved this confusion.]*

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