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What does this quote mean to you?

rhitland

Founding Member
Premium Member
Brother Josh's quote from Albert Einstein has ruled my head the last few days every quite moment I have it pops in my head and I will tumble over it for awhile usually more confused than when I started so I wanted to get help and insight into Einstein true menaing behind the quuote? I know he knew what he was talking about but I cannot seem to catch up to the idea to wrap my arms around it please let me know what you think.

When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity. -- Albert Einstein
 

owls84

Moderator
Premium Member
Well, Einstien was explaining how time can be altered based on gavitational pull and such when he put his reletivity theory out there. If you ever get a chance to read it you should. It is pretty intense, when he gets to discussing how Space bends time and such. His example here just shows how the mind can "slow" time down. You hear stories all the time talking about how when somethig tragic happens and a second seems like eternity or if someone gets shot everything moves in slow motion, even the pain doesn't reach the brian because of our adrinaline. Then on the flip side we hear that "Time flys when we are having fun" just his way to let us common folk understand how time can be altered.

This brings up a few questions of my own though. I have heard that man is much stronger than we allow ourselves to be. I am told that we only use 10% of our brain power. You hear of people on drugs that take on 10 cops and break cuffs and so forth that means that something in his brain allows him to use strength that he would not normally. Can you see some break through in our time that allows us to open that part of our brain that holds us back? And, why would God decide to program us not to use our full potential?
 

JTM

"Just in case"
Premium Member
owls answered the Einstein part of the quote.

for the second, people say that all the time... the number varies between 2-10% of the brain is actually used. that is bullcrap, however.

movies like John Travolta's "Phenomenon" play on that kind of thing. it's total crap. a more accurate way of putting it is that you are consciously aware of 2-10% of your brain's activity. you don't actively use or even want to actively use the other 90%. think about it this way, if you had 100% control of your brain, you'd have to think about your heartbeat and other things that it takes care of subconsciously. 100% of your brain works, you just aren't aware of it.

the fact that you don't use it all allows for instantaneous and subconscious decisions like your "fight or flight" response or breathing or heartbeat, or whatever.

they tell people with heart palpitations NOT to think about your heartbeat. when your heart is racing, think of something else. what you're doing there is letting your brain take over that job instead of actively thinking about it.
 

Zack

Registered User
Speaking of time......

20 seconds from now you don't know what you are going to say or think.

So who's in charge?????
 

lwdisney

Registered User
Einstein's theories of relativity (special and general) get into a little advanced physics and math. not too bad though because I learned it in my sophmore level physics class. Josh is right, def read it but make sure whatever book you get isn't getting into all that math and stuff.

but I think here, Einstein is refering to perception and our awareness of time. if you are in a bad situation (like almost every college class I took, painful moment, boring girl talking), you wondering when its going to end so you are fully aware, even focusing on time. you are thinking about every second that passes so it seems like forever.

on the same token, when we are in a good situation, we are thinking about what we are doing, how much fun it is, not when it is going to end. we are not conscious of the seconds flying by, so a minute or an hour goes by seemingly much quicker.
 

scottmh59

Registered User
When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second

i think what einstein was trying to say is that when the clock is ticking,make sure you are getting your moneys worth.:8:
 
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Gerald.Harris

Premium Member
Premium Member
It means that even though a second is a second in length, our brains have the absolute ability to cast our own slant on the measurement. Kind of remeinds me of the opening dialogue in " The Twilight Zone"
 

C. Banks Barbee

Registered User
It means that even though a second is a second in length, our brains have the absolute ability to cast our own slant on the measurement. Kind of remeinds me of the opening dialogue in " The Twilight Zone"

I like that definition. The thing about the TZ is that no-one ever claimed it was fiction, no one ever claimed it wasn't real. We took it for granted that we were safe, that it was just Rod Serling's imagination. The real theory of relativity was escaping the Twilight Zone.
 

rhitland

Founding Member
Premium Member
So did Einstein think time was a real thing? Which our minds had the ability to effect? OR did he think time was a made up concept which our minds perceived differently depending on the situation?
 

owls84

Moderator
Premium Member
I believe he feels that time, like most things in our universe, can be altered. I think that is pretty clear in his Theory. EVERYTHING relies on another in this universe and if something relies on something else it adds a variable. If you can manipulate that variable then you can manipulate what relies on it. This is what fascinates me. This is what gives hope to parallel universes and string theory and deep physics all of which fascinate me.

Now you have me passionate about something Bro. Rhit.
 

lwdisney

Registered User
This is what gives hope to parallel universes and string theory and deep physics all of which fascinate me.

Dork.

Einstein definitely thought time is a real thing but not that we can affect it with our minds or anything. Time is a dimension completely (sort of) independent of anything. I wasn't sure I wanted to say that because then we could get into more advanced physics but that's beyond and unnecessary for this discussion.

He most certainly didn't think time is a made up concept. He's just commenting on how different things perceive time differently. Think about insects who live for only days. A week is several generations to them but to us, its the length of one work session. Then a century is a very long time for us, but to certain trees, its nothing. And to the Earth, humans have existed for a geological second.

While you can take this quote to crazy depth and get all sorts of stuff out of it, I think Einstein was being intentionally simple and funny (it ain't like he wasn't known to do that)...not really getting into physics or anything.
 

owls84

Moderator
Premium Member
No but he did say time can be altered by speed. Did he not. I believe it was Einstien that said if you can travel by the speed of light then time slows down. I believe my statement is still correct. Time can be altered.
 

rhitland

Founding Member
Premium Member
Dork.

He most certainly didn't think time is a made up concept. He's just commenting on how different things perceive time differently. Think about insects who live for only days. A week is several generations to them but to us, its the length of one work session. Then a century is a very long time for us, but to certain trees, its nothing. And to the Earth, humans have existed for a geological second.

Soooo, does perception play apart in the make up of time? I mean is it kinda of a kog in the system to make time work? Without perception would time even exist?
Another question is if you perceive you are short on time, are you? Or another way to ask, if you feel you have all the time in the world, do you?
 

lwdisney

Registered User
No but he did say time can be altered by speed. Did he not. I believe it was Einstien that said if you can travel by the speed of light then time slows down. I believe my statement is still correct. Time can be altered.

I was talking about what Rhit said...that we can't affect time with our minds. You are right, moving clocks tick more slowly than a "stationary" clock. Common example is if you have twins on Earth and one goes on a spaceship traveling at 0.9c (90% speed of light) and the other stays on Earth. dude comes back 60 years later and the kid on Earth aged 60 years but the brother on the ship only aged 5 years (numbers aren't important, just that he aged much less).

And Rhitland, I'm not sure what your first questions are asking. I'll just say our perception cannot affect time, its independent of us.

To answer your second question, lets say two guys have 1 year to live, one views as short and the other long. but in both situations, its 1 year so neither affected time. its just a matter of what 1 year means to you and what you do with it.

Giggity?
 

rhitland

Founding Member
Premium Member
I was talking about what Rhit said...that we can't affect time with our minds. You are right, moving clocks tick more slowly than a "stationary" clock. Common example is if you have twins on Earth and one goes on a spaceship traveling at 0.9c (90% speed of light) and the other stays on Earth. dude comes back 60 years later and the kid on Earth aged 60 years but the brother on the ship only aged 5 years (numbers aren't important, just that he aged much less).

Giggity?

What causes the guy traveling the speed of light to age less when the same amount of time has passed?
 

lwdisney

Registered User
That's where the relavity part comes in....its not actually the same amount of time for each person. Time for an observer in motion slows down, time is relative to the frame of reference, but again not alterable by our minds.
 

TCShelton

Founding Member
Premium Member
I was talking about what Rhit said...that we can't affect time with our minds. You are right, moving clocks tick more slowly than a "stationary" clock. Common example is if you have twins on Earth and one goes on a spaceship traveling at 0.9c (90% speed of light) and the other stays on Earth. dude comes back 60 years later and the kid on Earth aged 60 years but the brother on the ship only aged 5 years (numbers aren't important, just that he aged much less).

And Rhitland, I'm not sure what your first questions are asking. I'll just say our perception cannot affect time, its independent of us.

To answer your second question, lets say two guys have 1 year to live, one views as short and the other long. but in both situations, its 1 year so neither affected time. its just a matter of what 1 year means to you and what you do with it.

Giggity?
Scott, comments?
 
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