3 ms·
> although Einstein’s theory demolished Newton’s absolute space, it gave us something else in its place—a four-dimensional structure known as spacetime—and this
by philipov 9y ago
> although Einstein’s theory demolished Newton’s absolute space, it gave us something else in its place—a four-dimensional structure known as spacetime—and this, Greene argues, is absolute.
And yet, it is now thought that spacetime itself can not be absolute, and must emerge from more fundamental structures, such as combinatorial geometries: https://youtu.be/qTx98PUW6lE?t=13m7s https://youtu.be/qTx98PUW6lE?t=13m7s
- andrepd 9y agoI wouldn't go so far as to say that "it is now thought". More like some people that are researching this problem are proposing some solutions. We are far from a definite answer.
- philipov 9y agoSorry, I thought the video made that clear. What is now thought is not an answer, but a perspective on the question. That the way to resolve the paradoxes between quantum mechanics and general relativity is not to find a quantum mechanical theory of gravity, but that both quantum mechanics and spacetime must emerge together from something more fundamental. In this sense, it is now thought that spacetime is not absolute. This sentiment appears widespread in the physics community, but as to precisely what this more fundamental theory should be, that answer has not yet been found.