Gravitation, Virgo, -- And The Philosopher

Discussion In Thin Air Continues
July, ’80
“What about Einstein?” I said. “What’s his perspective? What’s he got to say about Virgo? I’m sure Peter would like to know?”

“Yeah, what’s the haps there, anyway;” responded Peter, “where does Virgo fit into Einstein’s universe?”

“Einstein tells us,” replied Tony, “that the large-scale universe is a curved surface of four dimensions, three of space and one of time. The gravitational force, the force that binds us to the earth, and Virgo to the zodiac, arises from the very structure of that space-time continuum. Many believe, including myself, that mass/energy points will one day be understood as field intensities, and thus as a manifestation of that very same continuum. But that day hasn’t arrived yet. That’s what Einstein wanted to prove. It’s much too big a problem for me, though, but that doesn’t mean that someday somebody else won’t solve it.”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait for another Einstein,” I said.

“Well, maybe,” Noel added, “but Einstein spent thirty good years trying to answer that problem and came up with zilch. I’m afraid those fuzzy little phantoms at the small-scale end of the universe are not going to go away. We would be better off to recognize and accept that. It’s time to move on.”

“Oh, do I smell a snide comment or what?” exclaimed Tony. “Move on to what, to where? I feel we are about to hear a different set of conjectures, never mind that Noel and I have agreed to disagree on this subject before. But, if you must Noel, go ahead, enlighten us.”

“What are you guys talking about,” said Peter, “If there’s anything I hate it’s being left out a conversation.”

“Sorry old boy,” replied Tony, “Its just that Noel has this unorthodox way of looking at things. You’ll have to excuse him, though, his genealogy lists an ancestry of university professors and his father, a Philosophy Professor himself, went to Yale back in the ‘40’s and studied under this guy called Ernst Cassirer. Noel likes to bang Cassirer’s drum whenever he gets a chance. Like father, like son, eh Noel!”