On Friday, June 20, 2025 at 2:19:49 PM UTC-6 Alan Grayson wrote:
On Friday, June 20, 2025 at 11:48:48 AM UTC-6 John Clark wrote: On Fri, Jun 20, 2025 at 10:01 AM Alan Grayson <[email protected]> wrote: *>> T**he correct Wheeler quote is "Matter tells spacetime how to curve. Spacetime tells matter how to move". I can't think of a better 12 word summary of General Relativity than that.* *> **What Wheeler says is BS for the masses. Surprised you can't see it, or the issue I have raised.* *Are you also surprised that none of Wheeler's physicist colleagues can see the "issue" you have raised either? What exactly is the "issue" by the way? I thought you said the word "local" resolved your confusion.* *John K Clark See what's on my new list at Extropolis <https://groups.google.com/g/extropolis>* *I changed my mind when I realized that separate observers in different enclosures, with different measuring devices, could reach different conclusions about finding tidal forces, or not, and conclude gravity is indistinguishable from acceleration, or not. I have no idea what Wheeler's colleagues think about this issue, nor does it really matter. The facts speak for themselves for anyone willing to accept them. Moreover, I think it leaves a lot of unresolved issues to claim that geometry alone xplains motion for free falling objects, without specifying exactly how geometry interacts with material objects. GR tells us how to calculate that effect, but as far as I can tell, offers no explanation of the physical interaction. At the end of the day, you seem to support the "shut up and calculate" school of thought, or philosophy. AG * *I concede that if two test masses are dropped and observed for short enough distances, no tidal forces will be observed, and the observer will affirm the EP regardless of the accuracy of the measuring device used. But what this shows is not surprising and not grounds for the claim to have discovered some new, deep principle. Your opinion is what? AG * -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Everything List" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/everything-list/517dba8d-7ffa-447e-af5e-929545d06508n%40googlegroups.com.
