The whole point of this blog has been to challenge established perspectives and illuminate paradigms that many may not understand they possess. A long running thought experiment I started with my late brother many years ago may best illustrate why this is important. This example also reinforces my point about the limitation of labels, and the power of a single word choice.
A basic component of the forces of nature is gravity. Gravity always affects us whether we are aware of it or not, and indeed our lives would not be possible without it. Newton offered the first law of gravity, in which some basic principles of gravity were described, then expounded upon by Einstein as our frames of reference changed. For all the vaunted knowledge of these two great thinkers, all they have been able to do is to describe gravitational properties mathematically. These equations simply allow us to predict how a massive object is affected by gravity (or how gravity affects space); these equations do not tell us what gravity is.
What is the source of gravity? In elementary school science we are taught that here on Earth, we are pulled to the Earth by the force of gravity contained within it. Newton similarly described the pull of the Earth on a falling apple. It is assumed that gravity is a force intrinsic to any object that has mass, and that the more massive the object the greater the gravitational attraction to it.
Here is the novelty of a paradigm shift: what if we are not pulled, or drawn to the Earth, but rather, we are pushed toward it? Appreciate the difference between the following two sentences--gravity is a force that pulls us toward Earth; gravity is a force that pushes us toward Earth. In the first sentence the source of gravity is intrinsic to the planet on which we live. As such, to unravel its secrets we must look to the Earth, to mass, for answers. In the second, we must look to space, to everything but mass, for answers. Simply changing that perspective opens up completely new avenues of exploration, and all for the substitution of one word.
In high school science we are introduced to the concept of vaccuums. During the course of that discussion the teacher likely says, "nothing in science is ever pulled, it is pushed." The vaccuum demonstration underlies that concept; in order to achieve equillibrium air rushes in to a vaccuum. The greater pressure outside a vaccuum pushes air into the vaccuum, but the air is not sucked, or pulled, into it. Even the idea that a child pulls a wagon is not correct in a scientific sense. Rather, the child's hand is wrapped around a handle, and part of that child's palm and fingers push the back side of the handle in whatever direction the child moves. The orientation of the child in respect to the wagon is irrelevant; in a strict scientific sense, the forces involve pushing on some part of the wagon to make it move.
Yet we still insist that gravity pulls us toward Earth. Instilling that paradigm in children then provides them a frame of reference through which they may further explore the force later, perhaps incorrectly. Thus we see the importance of paradigm shifts, changing perspective, understanding word choices and labels in general.
As for the thought experiment, run your own. How might gravity be a force that is imposed on us from outside, rather than something intrinsic to the Earth? What are its properties under this new perspective? What is its source? Perhaps I'll share my thoughts in a later post.
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