Re: The Flat Earth? - Conclusion

Jean-Luc Picard (matcmjk@lux.latrobe.edu.au)
Fri, 30 Jun 1995 01:21:41 GMT

: Look if you're trying to say that Einstein says there's no different
: between a spinning Earth and non-rotating universe, and a stopped Earth
: and a spinning universe, I know that. And the same holds true of you
: and me-- I can say (if I start twirling on skates) that I'm spinning and
: the universe is not, or that I'm still at rest, and have made the
: universe spin. These positions are physically eqivalent (same math),
: but the last one is really a stupid and amazingly egoistic point of
: view. I'm merely pointing out that the idea that the Earth doesn't
: spin, is much the same kind of thing as a skater's idea that they are
: really spinning the universe, instead of themselves.

Of course it's stupid; but none of you have yet asked:
1) Why the EARTH should be the centre of the Universe.
2) When you say the Earth is stationary, you mean, of course, stationary
relative to... ?
3) (Getting back to that argument over what created the Big Bang, etc.):
What created God then? Huh?
4) The statements to the effect: these books eventually will explain
everything... How do you know? Do you base your whole life/lives just
blithely believing things you read at random? Why do the type of people who
tend to do this sort of thing never choose a physics text to become fanatical
about? :)
5) Realising that the interior and exterior of the Earth are constantly
moving, what part is the stationary part?
I realise that these questions do not apply to some of you, but you know
who you are...
M.