Re: [asa] George & heliocentricity

Bernie -

No, I'm afraid you do not understand what I mean by relativity. There is no such thing as absolute rest or absolute motion. We do not know that the earth is not at rest, only the obvious fact that there are reference frames in which the earth is not at rest. But in a reference frame fixed to the earth it is at rest, & that frame is as good as any other.

And please do not quote me as saying that the statement "the earth is the center" can be disproved observationally unless you add my qualification that it really doesn't make sense today to speak of the center of the universe at all.

Shalom
George
http://home.roadrunner.com/~scitheologyglm

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dehler, Bernie" <bernie.dehler@intel.com>
To: "ASA list" <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 7:40 PM
Subject: RE: [asa] George & heliocentricity

> Hi George-
>
> Thanks for clarifying and for your pithy answer. So your answer is 'yes' it can be disproven.
>
> You then say:
> "But the real question today - when it makes
> little sense to speak of any "center" of the universe - is whether or not
> one can legitimately say that the earth is at rest. I.e., is a fixed-earth
> reference frame as good in principle as a fixed-sun one? & the answer to
> that is an unambiguous "Yes.""
>
> That is interesting. However, in reality, we also know that both the Earth and Sun are not at rest. So if someone hypothesized that either is at rest, we could disprove that scientifically also, correct?
>
> And I do understand/agree with what you mean by relativity, reference frames, etc.
>
> ...Bernie
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: George Murphy [mailto:GMURPHY10@neo.rr.com]
> Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 4:23 PM
> To: ASA list; Dehler, Bernie
> Subject: Re: [asa] George & heliocentricity
>
> Yes, I did answer it as clearly as possible in posts of 26 & 29 June. Just
> as a matter of geometry the sun is, roughly, at the "center" of the solar
> system & the earth isn't. But the real question today - when it makes
> little sense to speak of any "center" of the universe - is whether or not
> one can legitimately say that the earth is at rest. I.e., is a fixed-earth
> reference frame as good in principle as a fixed-sun one? & the answer to
> that is an unambiguous "Yes."
>
> Shalom
> George
> http://home.roadrunner.com/~scitheologyglm
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Dehler, Bernie" <bernie.dehler@intel.com>
> To: "ASA" <asa@calvin.edu>
> Sent: Friday, July 10, 2009 5:50 PM
> Subject: [asa] George & heliocentricity
>
>
>> Hi George-
>>
>> I'm not sure if you even clearly answered this question... and I'm really
>> curious. A pithy answer would be great.
>>
>> Question:
>> Suppose someone has this hypothesis:
>>
>> The Earth is the center of the universe.
>>
>> Do you think this can be scientifically disproven?
>>
>> I would appreciate it if your answer began with a 'yes' or 'no.'
>>
>> I think heliocentricity is a great analogy for many things, so I want to
>> make sure I understand you completely.
>>
>> ,,,Bernie
>>
>>
>>
>> To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
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Received on Fri Jul 10 22:30:08 2009