Relativistic Space

A summary of:
Wertheim, M. (1999). The Pearly Gates of Cyberspace: H5N1 History of Space from Dante to the Internet. Virago Press: London.
Chapter 4 - Relativistic Space

The side past times side epitome shifting regain explored inwards the mass is Einstein's realization that, despite what nosotros had e'er thought, infinite too fourth dimension are non absolute; they are individual! - "everyone occupied his or her ain private infinite too time" (168). This means, startlingly, that nosotros play a to a greater extent than crucial role inwards the rattling nature of our reality than nosotros were previously aware. Rather than passively moving through infinite too time, "In Einstein's picture, infinite is transformed from a neutral arena to an active participant inwards the corking cosmological drama" (170).

Another revelation of Einstein's relativity is that it exposes the fact that the "universe has an overall architecture," quite dissimilar from Newton's cosmos which was "devoid of form" (172).

And fifty-fifty farther bubble-shattering, General Relativity showed that the "galaxies of our universe are non hurtling away from 1 about other into an already existing space; rather as the infinite itself expands its reach, it takes the galaxies with it. Space, inwards a sense, becomes similar a living thing - a continually swelling cosmic fruit" (173). It boggles the heed to recollect of the charge per unit of measurement of this expansion: growing past times a billion billion cubic lite years every unmarried twenty-four hours (173).

Wertheim pauses to cause got stock of the implications of the shift this all represents:

For Aristotle, infinite was but a youngster too rather unimportant category of reality. Newton, past times contrast, made infinite the formal background of his universe, the absolute frame of all action. Yet Newtonian infinite possessed no intrinsic qualities of its own, beingness exactly a formless too featureless void. As such, says physicist Andre Linde, inwards the Newtonian system infinite 'continued to play a secondary, subservient role,' serving exactly 'as a backdrop' for the activity of matter. With full general relativity, however, infinite becomes for the offset fourth dimension a primary active category of reality. According to relativity, you lot cannot cause got textile objects without a supporting membrane of space. Space therefore becomes inwards Einstien's vision a major pillar of the modern scientific the world moving-picture exhibit (175).

And 1 time nosotros realized the destructive nature of dark holes, thank you lot to Hawking, infinite takes on solely unusual characteristics still: "in the relativistic vision, infinite has teach literally monstrous" (177).

An existential crisis of sorts emerged from our dawning realization of our relative insignificance. Even our universe is exactly a puny "island universe" with innumerable other islands. "We respect ourselves, then, inwards a paradoxical situation, for spell nosotros are the offset civilization inwards human history to cause got a detailed map of the entire physical cosmos, nosotros are, inwards effect, lost inwards space" (184). While Wertheim hither most probable agency nosotros are lost inwards the intellectual or indeed physical sense; but clearly she would non disagree that this is metaphorically accurate as well. In other words, where are nosotros inwards the universe? - where exercise nosotros belong? - too subsequently, this compells us to wonder why nosotros be at all, given how small-scale our behave upon could maybe be. Wertheim asks, "is it whatsoever wonder nosotros cause got turned to the stars seeking friendship too meaning? Is it whatsoever wonder that nosotros long to last role of about intergalactic community imbued with purpose too direction" (184).

The peculiarly disorienting thing close modern cosmological infinite is that it is directionless (184). Whereas inwards Dante's cosmology, 1 sought God past times going upwards (this was a directed journey), everywhere inwards space, too every management inwards space, is as probable to comprise meaning. Space is directly homogenous (185). This agency (to paraphrase the fictional superhero Dashielle Parr of the Pixar celluloid The Incredibles), if everything is special, too so nix is. Or about other way of agreement this: nosotros cause got infinite liberty now, but liberty to what? - to roam aimlessly?

The other lawsuit of homogenization is that it boxes our thinking:

Yet spell nosotros inwards the West cause got been developing an ever to a greater extent than detailed too adventure-filled vision of our physical cosmos, nosotros cause got negated the rattling sentiment of other planes of reality, other 'spaces' of being. By homogenizing infinite too reducing 'place' to a strict mathematical formalism, nosotros cause got robbed our universe of meaning too taken away whatsoever feel of intrinsic directionality. The flip side of our cosmological republic is therefore an existential anarchy: With no house to a greater extent than special than whatsoever other, at that topographic point is no house ultimately to aim for - no goal, no destination, no end. The cosmological regulation that 1 time rescued us from the gutter of the universe has left us, inwards the concluding analysis, with no house to go (185-6).

And yet it seems that the style is to maintain walking downwards this nighttime alley, as nosotros cause got establish about promising breadcrumbs therefore far on our journey. Math has revealed about quite remarkable things, so nosotros kicking the bucket on to follow this work of thinking; too meanwhile the farther nosotros go, the colder, darker, too scarier it all seems to teach for humans. This raises the query of whether 'truths' tin or should last dependent champaign to a heirarchy; or perhaps whether if they must, nosotros mightiness desire to cause got a chip of a reshuffle. We recollect that mathematical or scientific thinking is to a greater extent than 'true' than metaphorical or poetic thinking; but which makes us happier? Which satisfies us as humans more? And isn't geometrical figuring of the universe simply an interpretation of the ineffable, as is whatsoever image or poem???

My dad sent me a quote today inwards an email. It says, "What makes me saddest of all things inwards the the world is this: the vast bulk of the fourth dimension the correct thing to exercise morally is the correct thing to exercise inwards price of wide self-interest, too yet nosotros don't believe that too nosotros exercise the incorrect thing, thinking nosotros must, thinking that we're making the 'hard decisions.'" I exercise wonder if the same tin last applied hither to this obsessive mathematical scream for (continued inwards the side past times side chapter through to the regain of xi dimensions), as it may last to our technological innovation. Is it non perhaps wiser, at to the lowest degree inwards the illustration of the latter, if nosotros hop onto a dissimilar rail entirely, 1 that leads to light, rather than alienation too darkness? I recognize this is hyperbole, but the betoken remains: inertia is non justification inwards itself for persisting along the same lines of thinking. And as Einstein himself famously said, "Problems cannot last solved past times the same grade of thinking that created them."