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Oct. 17, 2008 In ancient times, it was widely believed that the earth was the center of the universe and that the sun, the stars and the planets were smaller, subsidiary entities existing as adjuncts to the earth. It was seen that the sun and the stars circled the sky neatly, while the planets wandered about unpredictably. This was the geocentric view. Then Copernicus and others posited that the sun is the center of the solar system, the earth being just one of a number of planets revolving about the sun. With this view, the motion of the planets, in nearly circular ellipses, becomes susceptible of explanation and calculation. This is the heliocentric view. The heliocentric view still prevails. Ask anyone on the street, and he or she will say that the earth revolves about the sun, not vice versa. He or she will add further that the sun is one of billions of stars clustered in galaxies throughout the universe. Since no one knows whether or where the universe ends, there is no way of locating the 'center' of the universe. All that one may do is select a point, and establish a coordinate system using that point as its origin. So any point whatsoever may be selected as a 'center'. At one time, it was theorized that a body rotating with respect to the rest of the universe could not be used as the origin of such a coordinate system, as in that case, the apparent motion of the stars would exceed the speed of light. However, by a new method of calculation called tensor calculus, this limitation was removed, and it was established that even a rotating body, like earth, could be used as the origin of a coordinate system. This is the relativistic view. The upshot is that, if I choose to regard earth as the center of the universe, I am at liberty to do so. Ancient man thought earth really was the center of the universe. Modern man thinks that the earth revolves about the sun. Postmodern man thinks that the earth seems like the center of the universe, making a mental note of the fact that, if he were transported to another planet in another galaxy, that other planet would then seem to be the center of the universe. However, the likelihood that anyone but a few astronauts will ever leave the planet earth and that no human being will ever set foot on a planet in another solar system in this or any other galaxy makes the mental note relatively unimportant. Great! If I could go to Pojolfs, a mythical star in the mythical galaxy called Ti, it would feel as if Pojolfs were the real deal, and everything else were secondary. I've made a clear mental note of that fact. Thank you kindly. Now let me return to my view that, for an ordinary mortal like myself, the earth is still the center of the universe. ------------ About the author Thomas Keyes: I have written two books: A SOJOURN IN ASIA (non-fiction) and A TALE OF UNG (fiction), neither published so far. I have studied languages for years and traveled extensively on five continents. Visit my website here. Email: udikeyes@yahoo.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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