Is Distance Just an Illusion? The Philosophical Perspective

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Discussion Overview

The discussion explores the philosophical implications of distance, questioning whether it is merely an illusion. Participants consider the scale of human size in relation to the vastness of the universe and the concept of zero length, examining how these perceptions might influence our understanding of distance.

Discussion Character

  • Philosophical exploration
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions how human size relates to the concept of zero length and the vast distances in the universe, suggesting that our perspective may be limited.
  • Another participant introduces Zeno's paradox as a relevant consideration in the discussion of distance.
  • A different viewpoint suggests that distance is interpreted based on the time it takes to traverse it, raising questions about the feasibility of scaling human size and speed to reach distant galaxies.
  • One participant calculates that light takes approximately 6 nanoseconds to travel 6 feet, questioning the earlier claim of 1/4 light year in relation to an electron's perspective.
  • Another participant discusses relative distance and velocity, proposing that distance is a relative concept based on the observer's scale.
  • One participant argues against the idea that humans are closer to one end of the distance scale, asserting that humans are actually near the middle of the scale.
  • Another participant emphasizes that distance is not an illusion, suggesting that it is a fundamental aspect of physical reality, though relativity may alter perceptions in different frames of reference.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views on the nature of distance, with no consensus reached. Some argue that distance is a relative concept, while others maintain that it is a fundamental aspect of reality. The philosophical nature of the discussion leads to differing interpretations and unresolved questions.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes various assumptions about the nature of distance, the scale of measurement, and the implications of relativity, which remain unresolved. Participants also reference concepts like Zeno's paradox and Planck length without reaching a definitive conclusion.

RapidRick
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I'm not familiar with the format of the forum, but could someone straighten me out on a question about distance and as to whether or not distance is only an illusion? How is it that the human body and the immediate physical world JUST HAPPENS TO BE on a scale of size that is so close to what we consider zero length, when you can look out a universe with apparently no end. That is, a 6 feet tall man is only 6 feet larger than zero length. A man can put his two index fngers together and say "that's zero length", but he can't even fathom the distance to the nearest star. So, is zero length even attainable, after all, it is infinitely small. If a human were the size of the apparent size of an electron ( 2 x 10 -15 meters) then 6 feet distance would be(if may calculations are correct) about 1/4 light year away. So for an electron at our toes, the top of our head would be 1/4 light year away. So the human body is huge compared to an observer on an electron. I think our perspective of the world around us is only a point in space afterall. This is more philosophical than hard science obviously. To summarize, how does the size of a human JUST HAPPEN to be so close to one end of the distance "yardstick" (6 feet from zero) and so seemingly infinitely far from the other end of the distance "yardstick". Is our seeming proximity to zero length only an illusion or are we situated somehere within the scale which goes from the infinitely large to the infinitely small, neither of which are obtainable.
 
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Not sure but Zeno ' s paradox may be of interest to you.
 
MidgetDwarf said:
Not sure but Zeno ' s paradox may be of interest to you.
Thanks. I did look over this. Distance is probably interpreted in terms of how long it takes to reach the distance. If we had arms that could reach out and grab a nearby galaxy( in addition to scaling up size, you would have to scale up the speed at which you could extend your arm which would exceed the speed of light which I'm not sure is theoretically possible), then I guess that galaxy would not be so far away.
 
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6 feet would take light approx. 6 nanoseconds to travel. What's your thinking on why it would take 1/4 l.y.?
 
artyb said:
6 feet would take light approx. 6 nanoseconds to travel. What's your thinking on why it would take 1/4 l.y.?
If you consider relative distance and velocity: So, a 2 meter tall person running 2 meters per second would be equivalent to a
2x10^-15 meter "tall" electron "running" 2x10^-15meter/second. So the "speed of light" in the electron's realm would be about
3x10^-7m/secThat is, the distance of 2.98x10^8 meters(distance light travels in one second) would be to a 2 meter tall human what
3X10^-7meters would be to a 2X10^-15meter "tall" electron. Kind of a silly concept, and don't want to bore you. Still seems that distance is a relative concept.Thanks for entertaining the question.
 
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RapidRick said:
I'm not familiar with the format of the forum, but could someone straighten me out on a question about distance and as to whether or not distance is only an illusion? How is it that the human body and the immediate physical world JUST HAPPENS TO BE on a scale of size that is so close to what we consider zero length, when you can look out a universe with apparently no end. That is, a 6 feet tall man is only 6 feet larger than zero length. A man can put his two index fngers together and say "that's zero length", but he can't even fathom the distance to the nearest star. So, is zero length even attainable, after all, it is infinitely small. If a human were the size of the apparent size of an electron ( 2 x 10 -15 meters) then 6 feet distance would be(if may calculations are correct) about 1/4 light year away. So for an electron at our toes, the top of our head would be 1/4 light year away. So the human body is huge compared to an observer on an electron. I think our perspective of the world around us is only a point in space afterall. This is more philosophical than hard science obviously. To summarize, how does the size of a human JUST HAPPEN to be so close to one end of the distance "yardstick" (6 feet from zero) and so seemingly infinitely far from the other end of the distance "yardstick". Is our seeming proximity to zero length only an illusion or are we situated somehere within the scale which goes from the infinitely large to the infinitely small, neither of which are obtainable.

Sounds like you are simply referring to that it is strange that particles tend to stick together which is not only a property of space but due to the properties of particles, such as their relation to the cause of forces.

In fact this length is very far from your example of holding two fingers together. The force fields won't even let the molecules come this close: 1 Planck length =
1.61619926 × 10-35 meters.

Why do we need to reach intermediate positions if everything is just one dot, at the same place? Distance is obviously not an illusion. Perhaps in the case of relativity it is according to how we predict other frames of references.
 
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RapidRick said:
To summarize, how does the size of a human JUST HAPPEN to be so close to one end of the distance "yardstick" (6 feet from zero) and so seemingly infinitely far from the other end of the distance "yardstick". Is our seeming proximity to zero length only an illusion or are we situated somehere within the scale which goes from the infinitely large to the infinitely small, neither of which are obtainable.

Humans are not at all closer to one end of the scale than the other. We are very close to the middle.
 
RapidRick said:
This is more philosophical than hard science obviously.
You are indeed correct. And since this isn't a philosophy forum, thread locked.
 

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