..Not in the least bit Pynchonic -- space

[David Morris]

On Thu, Feb 2, 2012 at 10:47 AM, Michael Bailey
<michael.lee.bailey at gmail.com> wrote:
>  David Morris wrote:
>> I was once told (in a yoga class) that space was the first (and
>> necessarily so) "thing" to be created.
>
> ...because you have to have someplace to put everything, right?
>
> so that's the "container" theory of space, which leads to the notion that your concept of space will be shaped by your ontology...
>
> and I think in math space means a co-ordinate system, right?

Right.  Space as a "canvas" for the creation that follows.  A very
primitive idea relative to current physics (not that I'm well versed
there...).  But the concept/understanding of what space "is" occupies
a big place in physics history, and is prominent in AtD also.
Remember aether?

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aether_(classical_element)

According to ancient and medieval science aether (Greek αἰθήρ
aithēr[1]), also spelled æther or ether, is the material that fills
the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere.

In Plato's Timaeus (St-55c) Plato described aether as "that which God
used in the delineation of the universe." Aristotle (Plato's student
at the Akademia) included aether in the system of the classical
elements of Ionian philosophy as the "fifth element" (the
quintessence), on the principle that the four terrestrial elements
were subject to change and moved naturally in straight lines while no
change had been observed in the celestial regions and the heavenly
bodies moved in circles.  In Aristotle's system aether had no
qualities (was neither hot, cold, wet, or dry), was incapable of
change (with the exception of change of place), and by its nature
moved in circles, and had no contrary, or unnatural, motion.  Medieval
scholastic philosophers granted aether changes of density, in which
the bodies of the planets were considered to be more dense than the
medium which filled the rest of the universe.  Robert Fludd stated
that the aether was of the character that it was "subtler than light".
Fludd cites the 3rd century view of Plotinus, concerning the aether as
penetrative and non-material.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminiferous_aether

In the late 19th century, luminiferous aether, æther or ether, meaning
light-bearing aether, was the term used to describe a medium for the
propagation of light.[1]

Due to the negative outcome of aether-drift experiments like the
Michelson-Morley experiment, aether as a mechanical medium having a
state of motion is no longer an explanation made use of in modern
physics and has been replaced by the theory of relativity and quantum
theory.

-----------------------------------

So, *now*, is space thought to be "empty?" An emptiness that can be
occupied or moved through?

David Morris