I Does Special Relativity Change Our Perception of Others?

[vanhees71]

So to avoid having to make another thread and getting this off my chest.

My anxiety regarding special relativity and my notion of other observers is misfounded.

No matter, which subject in physics you consider there's no reason to develop an anxiety, because what physics as a natural science does is simply to observe Nature and try to order the findings of these observations in mathematical theories and models, i.e., it doesn't and can not change anything what's not "there" in Nature.

In the context of relativity, it's clear that relativity simply is a better way to order events in space and time than the Newtonian space-time description is. Of course, as far as we know at the present stage of scientific knowledge, Nature always was behaving more as described by relativity than by Newtonian physics. Newtonian physics is simply a theory, though being very successful within its realm of applicability, which has a limit range of applicability. It could also well be that one day one finds by an observation that also (general) relativity is only approximately valid within some limited range of applicability.

So there is no reason to be anxious about anything we find out by using the scientific method. It's always to be expected that you find more accurate descriptions about the phenomena in Nature, which of course occur independent of our descriptions.

 

[martinbn]

Does anyone here think my anxiety is reasonably founded or are my anxieties pretty much only founded on misunderstanding?

What are you anxious about?

 

[EclogiteFacies]

What are you anxious about?

I summarised it in one of the above posts number 25.

Thanks!,

 

[martinbn]

I summarised it in one of the above posts number 25.

Thanks!,

There it says

...does not give us any reason to feel anxious.

So, are you still anxious? Why? About what?

 

[EclogiteFacies]

There it says

So, are you still anxious? Why? About what?

Well I was just double checking to see if my summary was mistaken and special relativity does not actually our notions of other people

That's what's making me shook. I just to know if my reasoning behind what was causing me anxiety was faulty

 

[EclogiteFacies]

I think the crux of my issue is

Does Special relativity mean that my notion of other people is not the same as their notions of themselves?
If so what would this mean to me it's terrifying as if my friends notion of themselves almost doesn't exist for me.

This from what's been said seems to be a misinterpretation. But I want confirmation

 

[vanhees71]

Well, that's true even in the non-relativistic context: How somethink looks depends on the direction I look at it.

 

[EclogiteFacies]

Well, that's true even in the non-relativistic context: How somethink looks depends on the direction I look at it.

But surely it's different... Like if I am moving relative to I literally have a different iteration of you. Sure when we meet up our reference frames agree but until then..

Am I still overcomplicating

 

[vanhees71]

I still don't understand what's disturbing you. Of course, taking into account the finite speed of light, things look different from what we are used to when moving at speeds relative to objects that are close to the speed of light, but that's simply, because usually we don't move with speeds relative to objects on Earth that are close to the speed of light.

 

[EclogiteFacies]

I still don't understand what's disturbing you. Of course, taking into account the finite speed of light, things look different from what we are used to when moving at speeds relative to objects that are close to the speed of light, but that's simply, because usually we don't move with speeds relative to objects on Earth that are close to the speed of light.

Like so my summary in post 25 is just me completely not getting it?

 

[martinbn]

I think the crux of my issue is

Does Special relativity mean that my notion of other people is not the same as their notions of themselves?
If so what would this mean to me it's terrifying as if my friends notion of themselves almost doesn't exist for me.

This from what's been said seems to be a misinterpretation. But I want confirmation

What do you mean by "notion of other people"? Where does special relativity say anything about that?

 

[jbriggs444]

But surely it's different... Like if I am moving relative to I literally have a different iteration of you. Sure when we meet up our reference frames agree but until then..

Am I still overcomplicating

So your mental picture of me is a particular three dimensional slice of my world-tube. Which slice that is changes over time. Similar for my picture of you.

No big deal. Both of our perspectives are incomplete. Neither of us sees the entire world-tube of the other. What we see is always just some aspect of a past cross-section.

Like looking at a rapidly changing series of pictures and audio recording of Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Except that we extrapolate forward to an imagined present and each expect that the other is alive in the illusory "now".

 

[EclogiteFacies]

So your mental picture of me is a particular three dimensional slice of my world-tube. Which slice that is changes over time. Similar for my picture of you.

No big deal. Both of our perspectives are incomplete. Neither of us sees the entire world-tube of the other. What we see is always just some aspect of a past cross-section.

Like looking at a rapidly changing series of pictures and audio recording of Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Except that we extrapolate forward to an imagined present and each expect that the other is alive in the illusory "now".

So what does this mean for relationships and other people for me

 

[martinbn]

So what does this mean for relationships and other people for me

Are you taking the pi$$!

 

[EclogiteFacies]

Are you taking the pi$$!

Genuinely no. I think that it must mean that your reference frame is incompatible with the iteration of you that exists in my reference frame
This sounds like there are almost multiple versions of you.

Surely this means we can't really ever exist alongside eachother from our own points of view. The universe is chopped up into weird segments that won't gel

 

[russ_watters]

So what does this mean for relationships and other people for me

Nothing. If that is indeed a serious question, then you should discuss it with a psychologist, not a physicist. Physics is not about emption/human relationships. This thread has gone beyond physics, so it is now closed.

 

[jbriggs444]

Genuinely no. I think that it must mean that your reference frame is incompatible with the iteration of you that exists in my reference frame
This sounds like there are almost multiple versions of you.

Surely this means we can't really ever exist alongside eachother from our own points of view. The universe is chopped up into weird segments that won't gel

We get on phone calls and video teleconferences without needing to get panicked over lag.

 

[Dale]

Does Special relativity mean that my notion of other people is not the same as their notions of themselves?

Your notion of other people is definitely not the same as their notion of themselves. This has nothing to do with relativity. You never know what is in the mind of another person, even if you are at rest with respect to them. Relativity has no impact on this. None whatsoever for any human relationship ever in history. It is simply not the source of this issue.

Your physics questions are fine. Please continue posting your physics questions. Please stop posting your angst. Your anxiety is not relevant to the physics. We are not psychiatrists or psychologists so we cannot help your emotional state.