Computer Science
Scientific paper
Apr 1994
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1994sc%26ed...3..155c&link_type=abstract
Science & Education, Volume 3, Issue 2, pp.155-176
Computer Science
1
Scientific paper
General Relativity describes the universe as a four-dimensional spacetime manifold which is somehow ‘curved’. Accounts of curved spacetime often claim that most of us find it impossible to imagine four-dimensional spacetime, and so should not even try to do so. This paper examines the claim that the best description of the universe is counter-intuitive and suggests ways to re-educate our intuitions to make them compatible with what seems to be the best science around. The paper examines two world views, or pictures of the universe — the Aristotelian and the Newtonian — and argues that we have forgotten (or perhaps never realized) how much of an idealization the Newtonian world view actually is. For this reason we have come to believe that we can only ‘see’ the world in three spatial dimensions. The paper ends by describing an alternative idealization, or set of pictures, that would lead us to find the claim that the universe is a four-dimensional spacetime manifold ‘perfectly natural’.
No associations
LandOfFree
Philosophy of gravity: Intuitions of four-dimensional curved spacetime does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Philosophy of gravity: Intuitions of four-dimensional curved spacetime, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Philosophy of gravity: Intuitions of four-dimensional curved spacetime will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1262419