..Not in the least bit Pynchonic -- space

[Michael Bailey]

what I would like to do is a nice natural-language exposition but
frankly I'm not up to it.

There was a fellow named Monty who used to show up here once in awhile
who surely could, and I bet Dave Monroe could if he wanted to.

I can tell you what your question makes me think:
a) projective geometry (which figures in Pynchon, of course, with the
eigenvalues) - when you look at a diagram of 3-dimensional space the
diagram is flat, but if it's cunningly wrought it gives a sense of
depth.

b) when you look at a diagram of the bowling balls on the plastic
sheets representing gravitation, that artist has abandoned the quest
for that particular illusion in favor of showing an illusion of the
gravitational effect on a space which is represented as a plane
although it really has at least one more dimension than that!

c) and of course the diagram is limited in size whereas space itself,
as Douglas Adams said, is actually really really big

d) the other part of your question, about the orbits and all, is
something I too wish I had a feel for.  I think it would be a matter
of doing the chapter questions in a good astronomy text and preferably
also talking extensively (and by talking, I mean listening) w/somebody
who knows it really well...
like, right now, I have a pretty good feel for where I am in local
space, but almost none for my position and velocity in a larger cosmic
framework...


Bled Welder wrote:
> I suppose I could go onto a science-l whatever, but that sounds like a
> hassle and you people seem to might be able to answer this question that
> bugs me: okay getting beyond the thing that Einstein was wrong, it'll be
> happening any day now, what is space?
>
> More specifickly, whenever I see examples of it, space is on a flat plane,
> then objects do their little push into the "fabric" of it --and case!
> everything is on the same frikkin plane.
>
> Is everything on the same frikkin plane, indenting?  I don't even know if
> the Moon circles on the same plane as Earth does the sun.  Are all planets
> in the same orbital format?  You know what I mean here?      b
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