You said:
Exactly! So the observer is moving! As I'm sitting on a chair typing this message, I am moving! So how can we explain the fact that I don't think I'm moving?

-Because the intuitive human reaction is to put yourself at the center of the universe and view all other objects using your self as a standard.
This physiological bent is evident in the fact that we consider people who older then we are old and people who are younger then we are young.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, the physical laws do not bend to our whims.

You said:
You know, I don't believe in ghosts but this one is particulary compelling. I'm not sure it won't vanish if gravity turns out not to be a force, but given our current assumptions yours sound like a good explanation for inertia.

I don't know if you realized (or would agree), but in order for your idea to work the gravitational field must be propagated at a speed greater than c. Interestingly, there seems to be some controversy regarding that issue; while most physicists maintain that gravity propagates at c, some dissenters claim that it goes much, much faster. But the dissenters are usually labeled as crackpots, because apparently a faster-than-light speed for gravity violates GR.

You said:
So how fast does the field have to propagate for your experiment to work?

I’m not sure what line of reasoning you’re using to come to that conclusion.
Can you give me a better idea how you determined a faster then light travel is required?

You said:
It seems most people have little faith in the power of the mind to discover truths. Which is ironic, since our only sources of knowledge are our mind and our senses, and the former tells us that the latter are not reliable.

That was good, like I wish I would have written it.

• So that you can "catch up with yourself" - aurino_c_souza - April 15, 2003 - 13:10 UTC
  • Sub light speeds are fine. - duordi - April 15, 2003 - 23:24 UTC
    • It's not right. It's not even wrong! - aurino_c_souza - April 16, 2003 - 12:53 UTC