+30 Because the ability of humans to **accurately** communicate ideas is so limited we can **never** really //know the truth// about anything. And even if we did discover the absolute //truth// about something, we could never **clearly** share that //truth// with anyone else. But we try anyway. Amirite?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Einstein struggled with this trying to get others to understand relativity. What are other examples of human difficulty in communicating ideas?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I think our ability to know the truth about anything is more limited by the fact that it's so hard to prove that //anything// is the absolute truth.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Agreed. And sharing the results is a further limitation.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Of course we aren't perfect. But I am more impressed by the way we can communicate so efficiently compared to all other animals rather than focusing on the occasional miscommunications that happen.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

I'm communicating with you right now that 1+1=2. Am I not perfectly accurate? Is this not an absolute truth? Haven't I clearly shared with you this absolute truth? This post is full of shit. Also, Einstein didn't have a hard time explaining relativity to other physicists. It's very well understood. The general population's lack of deep understanding is due to them being uneducated in higher physics. That's all.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

You are probably right because you often are. I based that statement on research like this "The general theory of relativity could not be understood by most of Einstein’s contemporaries..." [http://www.einstein-website.de/z_information/faq-e.html] and many other quotes from the scientists like Bohr and Oppenheimer. Also 1+1=2 is indeed true in the arithmetic they teach in public schools in western countries. However in complex spaces like the Riemann Sphere such "clear" answers are far from absolute.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Nice of you to leave out "Today things have changed. The theories of relativity are already dealt with in the upper classes of grammar school and are basic components of every physics study" which came right after your quote. Alright, show me an instance where 1+1 =/= 2, given that "one" and "two" are common units.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

To be fair, I said "Einstein struggled with this trying to get others to understand relativity." The fact that it is now part of standard teaching in grammar school does not negate //his// struggles to communicate the new ideas. Even so many physicist today would say he was wrong, or at least incomplete. That is not to say he did not know the //truth// about the universe, only that if he did, he could not communicate it clearly. To your other point, yes, I can agree on these definitions and to that extent we can communicate simple concepts like 1+1. If you can accurately communicate all your ideas clearly than you are a better man then I. I doff my hat to you.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

So you're saying a complex new theory of physics took some time for people to understand. No. Way.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

"..But we try anyway."

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Hey vic long time no see

by Anonymous 4 years ago