# What does this quote mean to you?



## rhitland (Nov 19, 2009)

Brother Josh's quote from Albert Einstein has ruled my head the last few days every quite moment I have it pops in my head and I will tumble over it for awhile usually more confused than when I started so I wanted to get help and insight into Einstein true menaing behind the quuote? I know he knew what he was talking about but I cannot seem to catch up to the idea to wrap my arms around it please let me know what you think.

_When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity. -- Albert Einstein _


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## owls84 (Nov 19, 2009)

Well, Einstien was explaining how time can be altered based on gavitational pull and such when he put his reletivity theory out there. If you ever get a chance to read it you should. It is pretty intense, when he gets to discussing how Space bends time and such. His example here just shows how the mind can "slow" time down. You hear stories all the time talking about how when somethig tragic happens and a second seems like eternity or if someone gets shot everything moves in slow motion, even the pain doesn't reach the brian because of our adrinaline. Then on the flip side we hear that "Time flys when we are having fun" just his way to let us common folk understand how time can be altered. 

This brings up a few questions of my own though. I have heard that man is much stronger than we allow ourselves to be. I am told that we only use 10% of our brain power. You hear of people on drugs that take on 10 cops and break cuffs and so forth that means that something in his brain allows him to use strength that he would not normally. Can you see some break through in our time that allows us to open that part of our brain that holds us back? And, why would God decide to program us not to use our full potential?


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## JTM (Nov 19, 2009)

owls answered the Einstein part of the quote.

for the second, people say that all the time... the number varies between 2-10% of the brain is actually used.  that is bullcrap, however.

movies like John Travolta's "Phenomenon" play on that kind of thing.  it's total crap.  a more accurate way of putting it is that you are consciously aware of 2-10% of your brain's activity.  you don't actively use or even want to actively use the other 90%.  think about it this way, if you had 100% control of your brain, you'd have to think about your heartbeat and other things that it takes care of subconsciously.  100% of your brain works, you just aren't aware of it.

the fact that you don't use it all allows for instantaneous and subconscious decisions like your "fight or flight" response or breathing or heartbeat, or whatever.

they tell people with heart palpitations NOT to think about your heartbeat.  when your heart is racing, think of something else.  what you're doing there is letting your brain take over that job instead of actively thinking about it.


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## Zack (Nov 19, 2009)

Speaking of time......

20 seconds from now you don't know what you are going to say or think.

So who's in charge?????


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## lwdisney (Nov 19, 2009)

Einstein's theories of relativity (special and general) get into a little advanced physics and math.  not too bad though because I learned it in my sophmore level physics class. Josh is right, def read it but make sure whatever book you get isn't getting into all that math and stuff.

but I think here, Einstein is refering to perception and our awareness of time.  if you are in a bad situation (like almost every college class I took, painful moment, boring girl talking), you wondering when its going to end so you are fully aware, even focusing on time.  you are thinking about every second that passes so it seems like forever.

on the same token, when we are in a good situation, we are thinking about what we are doing, how much fun it is, not when it is going to end.  we are not conscious of the seconds flying by, so a minute or an hour goes by seemingly much quicker.


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## C. Banks Barbee (Nov 19, 2009)

Time is the variable and we're the instrument?


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## scottmh59 (Nov 19, 2009)

> When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second



i think what einstein was trying to say is that when the clock is ticking,make sure you are getting your moneys worth.:8:


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## Gerald.Harris (Nov 19, 2009)

It means that even though a second is a second in length, our brains have the absolute ability to cast our own slant on the measurement. Kind of remeinds me of the opening dialogue in " The Twilight Zone"


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## C. Banks Barbee (Nov 19, 2009)

Gerald.Harris said:


> It means that even though a second is a second in length, our brains have the absolute ability to cast our own slant on the measurement. Kind of remeinds me of the opening dialogue in " The Twilight Zone"



I like that definition.  The thing about the TZ is that no-one ever claimed it was fiction, no one ever claimed it wasn't real.  We took it for granted that we were safe, that it was just Rod Serling's imagination.  The real theory of relativity was escaping the Twilight Zone.


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## rhitland (Nov 20, 2009)

I need a book. :blush:


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## C. Banks Barbee (Nov 20, 2009)

It's getting kinda deep in here.


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## rhitland (Nov 20, 2009)

So did Einstein think time was a real thing? Which our minds had the ability to effect? OR did he think time was a made up concept which our minds perceived differently depending on the situation?


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## owls84 (Nov 21, 2009)

I believe he feels that time, like most things in our universe, can be altered. I think that is pretty clear in his Theory. EVERYTHING relies on another in this universe and if something relies on something else it adds a variable. If you can manipulate that variable then you can manipulate what relies on it. This is what fascinates me. This is what gives hope to parallel universes and string theory and deep physics all of which fascinate me. 

Now you have me passionate about something Bro. Rhit.


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## lwdisney (Nov 21, 2009)

owls84 said:


> This is what gives hope to parallel universes and string theory and deep physics all of which fascinate me.



Dork.

Einstein definitely thought time is a real thing but not that we can affect it with our minds or anything.  Time is a dimension completely (sort of) independent of anything.  I wasn't sure I wanted to say that because then we could get into more advanced physics but that's beyond and unnecessary for this discussion.

He most certainly didn't think time is a made up concept.  He's just commenting on how different things perceive time differently.  Think about insects who live for only days.  A week is several generations to them but to us, its the length of one work session.  Then a century is a very long time for us, but to certain trees, its nothing. And to the Earth, humans have existed for a geological second.

While you can take this quote to crazy depth and get all sorts of stuff out of it, I think Einstein was being intentionally simple and funny (it ain't like he wasn't known to do that)...not really getting into physics or anything.


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## owls84 (Nov 21, 2009)

No but he did say time can be altered by speed. Did he not. I believe it was Einstien that said if you can travel by the speed of light then time slows down. I believe my statement is still correct. Time can be altered.


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## rhitland (Nov 21, 2009)

lwdisney said:


> Dork.
> 
> He most certainly didn't think time is a made up concept.  He's just commenting on how different things perceive time differently.  Think about insects who live for only days.  A week is several generations to them but to us, its the length of one work session.  Then a century is a very long time for us, but to certain trees, its nothing. And to the Earth, humans have existed for a geological second.



Soooo, does perception play apart in the make up of time? I mean is it kinda of a kog in the system to make time work? Without perception would time even exist? 
Another question is if you perceive you are short on time, are you? Or another way to ask, if you feel you have all the time in the world, do you?


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## lwdisney (Nov 24, 2009)

owls84 said:


> No but he did say time can be altered by speed. Did he not. I believe it was Einstien that said if you can travel by the speed of light then time slows down. I believe my statement is still correct. Time can be altered.



I was talking about what Rhit said...that we can't affect time with our minds.  You are right, moving clocks tick more slowly than a "stationary" clock.  Common example is if you have twins on Earth and one goes on a spaceship traveling at 0.9c (90% speed of light) and the other stays on Earth.  dude comes back 60 years later and the kid on Earth aged 60 years but the brother on the ship only aged 5 years (numbers aren't important, just that he aged much less).

And Rhitland, I'm not sure what your first questions are asking.  I'll just say our perception cannot affect time, its independent of us.

To answer your second question, lets say two guys have 1 year to live, one views as short and the other long.  but in both situations, its 1 year so neither affected time.  its just a matter of what 1 year means to you and what you do with it.

Giggity?


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## rhitland (Nov 24, 2009)

lwdisney said:


> I was talking about what Rhit said...that we can't affect time with our minds.  You are right, moving clocks tick more slowly than a "stationary" clock.  Common example is if you have twins on Earth and one goes on a spaceship traveling at 0.9c (90% speed of light) and the other stays on Earth.  dude comes back 60 years later and the kid on Earth aged 60 years but the brother on the ship only aged 5 years (numbers aren't important, just that he aged much less).
> 
> Giggity?



What causes the guy traveling the speed of light to age less when the same amount of time has passed?


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## lwdisney (Nov 24, 2009)

That's where the relavity part comes in....its not actually the same amount of time for each person.  Time for an observer in motion slows down, time is relative to the frame of reference, but again not alterable by our minds.


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## TCShelton (Nov 24, 2009)

lwdisney said:


> I was talking about what Rhit said...that we can't affect time with our minds.  You are right, moving clocks tick more slowly than a "stationary" clock.  Common example is if you have twins on Earth and one goes on a spaceship traveling at 0.9c (90% speed of light) and the other stays on Earth.  dude comes back 60 years later and the kid on Earth aged 60 years but the brother on the ship only aged 5 years (numbers aren't important, just that he aged much less).
> 
> And Rhitland, I'm not sure what your first questions are asking.  I'll just say our perception cannot affect time, its independent of us.
> 
> ...


Scott, comments?


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## lwdisney (Nov 24, 2009)

oh and about Josh's first post....Einstein had two theories.  general relavity dealt with gravity and special dealt with spacetime/frame of reference. they are incompatable with each other. just fyi


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## scottmh59 (Nov 24, 2009)

> Scott, comments?


i gave my answer on page 1


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## TCShelton (Nov 24, 2009)

scottmh59 said:


> i gave my answer on page 1



I thought you might have some more awesome youtube footage to share...


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## scottmh59 (Nov 24, 2009)

[video=youtube;ghxn38bX7w0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghxn38bX7w0&feature=related[/video]
enjoy


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## TCShelton (Nov 24, 2009)

Ahh, much better.:4:


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## lwdisney (Nov 24, 2009)

yall are cool


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## rhitland (Nov 24, 2009)

I guess Scott has been "hacked" again by his Brother. :19:


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## scottmh59 (Nov 24, 2009)

rhitland said:


> I guess Scott has been "hacked" again by his Brother. :19:



no..thats all me:2::35:


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## rhitland (Nov 24, 2009)

lwdisney said:


> That's where the relavity part comes in....its not actually the same amount of time for each person.  Time for an observer in motion slows down, time is relative to the frame of reference, but again not alterable by our minds.



What a second so if I am in a rocket ship going the SoL and I am wearing a watch made set to work on earth time would it spin faster? To add to that last question; If time is different from my perception on earth compared to yours on a rocket going the SoL whose time is right?

And to bring the dork part back in I still see this as all being altered by our minds. Not in a meditational astral plaining trance like your thinking Mr Genius. Here is how I believe the mind has effected or altered time. Traveling the SoL would require an awesome machine right? How would one build that machine? From the power of the mind of man. From where all of reality is derived at least in my opinion. :huh:


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## TCShelton (Nov 24, 2009)

rhitland said:


> From the power of the mind of man. From where all of reality is derived at least in my opinion. :huh:



And with that, Bro. Disney, you can go get your money back from TCU. lol


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## scottmh59 (Nov 24, 2009)

TCShelton said:


> And with that, Bro. Disney, you can go get your money back from TCU. lol



its too late..tcu already cashed his check


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## lwdisney (Nov 24, 2009)

all right ladies, pay attention.

the clock on the spaceship ticks faster RELATIVE to the "stationary" clock on Earth.  both times are right in their respective frame of reference because that's what it depends on.

just a communication issue, you could have been clearer about the mind thing. anyway, yes, traveling the speed of light (different from accelerating to it b/c thats impossible) would require much more advanced technology (anti-gravity) and understanding of physics.  so indirectly, the mind might alter time. or wait...there are particles that move very near c, at c and faster than c (in a non-vacuum) and time for those particles is different.  they have no mind. just because we may have the capability to put ourselves in a reference frame where time is different as compared to Earth, does not mean we affect it.  you would not notice the difference because it all appears the same in that frame.

but how is reality derived from the human mind? did it not exist before man?  if that were true, then reality must cease to exist when a man dies, but it appears that's not true.  its like the tree falling in the forrest question (which I never understood why that is so hard).

and with that, Bro. Shelly, you can go cry.


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## scottmh59 (Nov 25, 2009)

einstein at work....

[video=youtube;7laHxv4vIcw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7laHxv4vIcw[/video]


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## rhitland (Nov 25, 2009)

lwdisney said:


> (which I never understood why that is so hard).
> 
> and with that, Bro. Shelly, you can go cry.



Because that is a question one cannot wrap their mind around with conventional knowledge. Hence why it came from a Buddhist Monk. 

_"If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" is a philosophical riddle that raises questions regarding observation and knowledge of reality.
George Berkeley was an Irish philosopher who created and promoted a theory he called "immaterialism" later referred to as "subjective idealism". His dictum was "Esse est percipi" - "To be is to be perceived".[1] He talked of objects ceasing to exist once there was nobody around to perceive them_

Watch this video link the whole 10 mins is good but the only part I want you to see Lester is from 1:02 to 5:31 it is about observation and its effect on reality.
[video=youtube;MoTBaa5gS30]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoTBaa5gS30[/video] 

Einstein is one of the greatest thinkers of our time no argument their but his theories only take us so deep. I want to start another thread to go deeper.


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## owls84 (Nov 25, 2009)

Well, I think I should just remove my quote and then you have nothing to build on Rhit.


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