Re: SR Postulate on Speed of Light

Curious wrote: 
1. 'Reality' as opposed to perception: If we cannot tell whether the
'real' speed of light is constant (or even if there is such a thing as
a 'real' speed of light), this doesn't remove the question from
physics. It just removes the answer from physics. For now. In future we
may be able to answer this in some way by physics. [...]
But perhaps you misunderstand what I mean
by philosophy. I don't mean airy-fairy wonderings about angels on pins.

This last statement is interesting. Why do questions about angels on pinheads seem "airy-fairy" to you, while questions about the constancy of the speed of light do not?

I really know nothing about the history of the angel question -- it may be an urban legend for all I know -- so you should take this with a grain of salt. But at the time that people were seriously thinking about this kind of question, people took it for granted that angels were real. Asking a question about angels then was no stranger than asking a question about electrons is now. The modern perception of angels is totally different, even among people who identify themselves as having Judeo-Christian beliefs. As a result, the question now seems silly. It's a matter of historical era, not of philosophers vs ordinary folk.

I would argue that your gut feeling that there must be a /real/ speed of light is inextricably tied up with a Newtonian worldview. It's because you take Newtonian physics for granted that the question seems to make sense, and it's specifically a Newtonian speed that you expect light to have. Once you understand special relativity -- and I have no doubt that you eventually will -- the question will not seem quite as interesting any more. If the question ever becomes interesting again in light of a future theory, it will be a /different question/, because the words will be interpreted in terms of the new theory.

-- Ben
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: On the physicality of length contraction
    ... it is OUTRAGEOUS to consider artifacts of human imaginations to be ... angels, and dragons? ... dragons; thus they would have no place in physics.... ... Certainly coordinate-free formulations of our theories of physics are available, the question is can one come up with a theory of measurement without using coordinates? ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: Non-homogenous theories of space and time
    ... For now, to my satisfaction, Black Holes Officially Exist unless you ... he does not exist in the time or space we observe. ... > physics we know of and we are free to invent new laws of physics for ... information than your story about angels throwing balls. ...
    (sci.physics)
  • Re: An Accounting of the Soul
    ... angels can dance on the head of a needle. ... theory the world splits asunder at every point where outcome A or B ... Non-deterministic physics allows for other, as yet unidentified, processes ...
    (soc.culture.jewish.moderated)
  • Re: On the physicality of length contraction
    ... that coordinates and frames are mere artifacts of human imaginations -- ... angels, and dragons? ... operationalizing coordinate systems, we may begin to take the ones we ... As the goal of physics is modeling the world we inhabit, ...
    (sci.physics.relativity)
  • Re: No Such Thing As "Macro" Evolution
    ... >>>You mistake appearance for reality. ... Langrangian analysis or a Newtonian analysis must be the same for any ... using the same methods of celestial mechanics developed by Laplace ... Calculation in physics ...
    (talk.origins)