Quote:
Originally Posted by driveway
Also... to refute a common refrain here. In two ways it is possible to demonstrate that, while not the centre of the solar system, the Earth IS the centre of the universe.
Method one:
Since we are on the earth, and all of our observations are made from here, we are the centre of that part of the universe we can preceive. Therefore, on a perceptual level, the earth is the centre of the universe.
Method two:
1. The universe is infinite.
2. In an infinite space, all points are equidistant from the edge of that space.
Therefore all points in the universe can be said to be at the centre. The Earth is a point, therefore it is the centre of the universe.
|
Method One: False. Using this rationale, since the Earth circles the Sun the observations are not centred around the Earth but are actually centred around the Sun. Taken to the next step, since the universe is expanding, even out current observations cannot be identified as centred at on specific physical space (as measured across the whole universe). Which leads to...
Method 2 - False. The universe is still expanding. And I'm not sure what logic allows you to say that space is infinite and then state that all points are equi-distant to the edge? If space was infinite then it wouldn't have an edge. For many mathematical calculations you may be able to exclude the edge by saying that as the distance gets great enough, the difference in the relative distances to the edge diminishes to zero, but at no time should you jump from "space is limitless" to "everything is the same distance to the edge of space".