Naked Science Forum
Non Life Sciences => Physics, Astronomy & Cosmology => Topic started by: Caregiver on 29/06/2006 13:46:31
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Sorry to inject this question in a science forum, but I am extremly curious about this. I am caring for a lung-cancer patient who is near death. We were speaking a couple of days ago in one of her stronger times, talking about a lot of things - resolving old family conflicts, finding peace, religion etc., things you speak about when your time is near.
We were talking about belief in God (she's Catholic), and I asked her what she's want to tell one of her children (an agnostic, phd science student) about God's existence.
She just said: "Time and distance are the same thing."
This seemed so weird to me, since she has no science background (a blue collar worker and housewife all her life), so I just wanted to get some feedback about what time=distance could mean. Thanks for reading.
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r u sure she's not well. how do i say this?? hmm has she ever had a brick chucked at her head??
NEVER! underestimate youth
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quote:
Originally posted by Caregiver
"Time and distance are the same thing."
Perfectly correct!
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Roy P
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Well, that's somewhat correct, you simply have to look past the 3rd dimension. The fourth dimension is time.
Viewed from this perspective, time and distance are both simply measurements in a specific dimension.
It's more probable, however, that she was being philisophical and not scientific in this assertaition.
The only diference between time and the spatial dimensions is that we are usualy constrained to moving in it only in one direction, although I believe it is possible to change the rate of your movement to a small degree (Ever waited through an hour that lasted a lifetime? Ever lost an hour and thought it was only a few minutes?).
I better stop soon before I get even more off topic.
http://www.frih.onet.frih.net/sigstore/sigs.html(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onet.frih.net%2Frand%2Fsig%2Favatar.gif&hash=aef465a55d4d5dee6c803aa2929ccd26)
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r u sure she's not well. how do i say this?? hmm has she ever had a brick chucked at her head??
NEVER! underestimate youth
-
quote:
Originally posted by Caregiver
"Time and distance are the same thing."
Perfectly correct!
__________________________________________________________
Roy P
-
Well, that's somewhat correct, you simply have to look past the 3rd dimension. The fourth dimension is time.
Viewed from this perspective, time and distance are both simply measurements in a specific dimension.
It's more probable, however, that she was being philisophical and not scientific in this assertaition.
The only diference between time and the spatial dimensions is that we are usualy constrained to moving in it only in one direction, although I believe it is possible to change the rate of your movement to a small degree (Ever waited through an hour that lasted a lifetime? Ever lost an hour and thought it was only a few minutes?).
I better stop soon before I get even more off topic.
http://www.frih.onet.frih.net/sigstore/sigs.html(https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.onet.frih.net%2Frand%2Fsig%2Favatar.gif&hash=aef465a55d4d5dee6c803aa2929ccd26)
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Of course she is right in her sense of reality. That is not to say that others would not argue the she is wrong and indeed go to grate lengths to prove there point. But unlike the crass comments from tony6789 they would show a little compassion in doing so. Not to mention some style and eloquence.
Perhaps she is near to her sense of GOD and is trying to explain that being with god is being free of all time. To be with the eternal is to be beyond time and distance. Since they are products of the creation of the universe and GOD or enlighten is not. Time is in this sense is a measurement of distances from the birth of to the outer limits of the expansion of the known universe. To be with GOD is to in a space where time and distance are one in their total irrelevance to being.
I would cherish to be in the presences of one so blessed please giver her my love and good wishes.
What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.