Simultaneity: Depends On How You Think?

In the previous post, the sonic boom video (from sec 00:13 on) mentions that thunder and lightning occur at the same time, however we experience lightning first because the speed of light is so much greater.

This idea assumes a concept of simultaneity, which also has a spatial component (two events occur at the same time in the same place, say, a mile away).  However, one problem you may find is that the more you think about time, the more you realize that it is a deeper phenomenon that such simple explanations support.   

For example, the vector calculus used to determine the electric field lines and voltage of the lightning bolt relies upon a complex and deeper set of ideas about space and time. 

In fact, the video (and it is a simple explanatory video) relies upon the radical re-workings of time and space for its explanations…

Here’s a video illustrating the relativity of simultaneity and time dilation.

Addition:  Here’s the bigview.com on the subject, including Kantian space-time. 

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