Relative Reality

The same reality can be quite different from the perspective of two different observers. But does it really matter?

Does it really matter if when you witness a sunrise whether or not it’s because the Sun goes around the Earth or because the Earth rotates while going around the Sun?

Does it really matter if you’re driving along while it’s raining vertically yet you see the raindrops hitting the windshield at an angle? Or, while driving, you see the posts go past the car, yet of course it’s the car driving past the posts.

Does it really matter if you’re flying in a plane as assume that the plane is suspended in the air and it’s the Earth’s rotation that’s bringing your destination to you?

Does it really matter if two cars are approaching each other at a combined velocity of 100 km/hour whether car one is standing still and car two is going at 100 km/hour; car one is traveling at 30 km/hour and car two is traveling at 70 km/hour; both cars are each moving along at 50 km/hour? Does it really matter if you’re in line between the two cars and thus have difficulty judging their relative velocities?

Well, ‘yes” it really does matter if you believe there is such a thing as universal or absolute truth. The Earth rotates and goes around the Sun; the raindrops really are on a vertical path downwards and would theoretically intersect the centre of the Earth; the plane is really flying and not suspended in midair; and both cars are moving at 50 km/hour.

Well ‘no’, it really doesn’t matter as long as you get to see the sun rise; you don’t get wet regardless whether or not the rain is falling straight down or at an angle; you reach your destination; and you’re not in either of the two cars on their collision course! The Universe certainly isn’t losing any sleep over this, and I bet neither will you!

But Einstein and the other relativists who followed in his footsteps care deeply about such matters because they do illustrate the principle that there are no God-given (or Nature-given) absolute frames of reference. Different strokes for different folks can produce identical results, or different results, depending..

That second observer, the different folk, complicates things. You on the ground assume the Sun goes around the Earth; the observer in space clearly sees the Earth rotating and orbiting the Sun. You see the rain hitting the windshield at an angle while the observer standing on the roadside clearly sees the rain falling vertically (and gets wet for his trouble). That second observer on the ground clearly sees the plane flying through the air and the hell with what you, the passenger, observe. That second observer from a distant hilltop has a side view sees and easily sees both cars in motion, both at 50 km/hour.

So, what about we hypothesize two identical twins (well it would be odd to have three identical twins!), born on the same day, say, just to be evil, on the sixth of June, 2006!
They both die at the exact same time, say a century later. Trouble is, one has moved to the east coast; one has lived on the west coast. The east coaster dies local time at 1 am 6 June 2106. The west coaster dies at the same moment, but west coast local time is 11 pm 5 June 2106. Thus, when reunited and buried side-by-side, one has a headstone that reads b.2006-d.2106, age 100 years; the other’s headstone reads b.2006-d.2106, age 99 years! It would now seem to be a case of relative reality trumping absolute truth!

Does evening and night come before the dawning day, or does the dawning day before evening and night? Does winter follow summer, or does summer follow winter? You may think that Wednesday comes before Thursday, but Thursday the 3rd comes before Wednesday the 9th!

One final example, you’re standing on a railway platform, your partner is on the train. Now as the train passes by the platform, your better half drops from say chest height a rubber ball. You, on the platform see the pathway of the dropped but bouncing back up ball as a V. Your partner sees the ball go straight down and straight up. Is there an absolute truth here? Does it cosmically matter?

Relative reality is part and parcel of our overall reality.