03Straight

Adapted for the Internet from:

Why God Doesn't Exist

Can motion be rectilinear?

There two ways to use the word

rectilinear

. Rectilinear could refer to a static alignment or to motion. A series

of footprints in

the sand can be said to be rectilinear.

The itinerary of a ball can also be said to be rectilinear.

both cases, we absolutely

need to compare the trace against

something

that is

straight. In order for the

footprints

to be rectilinear, we absolutely need

to place a straight edge next to them.

With respect to the

itinerary of the

ball, the mathematicians conceptually do something

similar. They plot the locations of the ball

on a chart. If

the trace is parallel to a straight line, they call it a

straight line,

which they really mean

rectilinear trajectory

(

Fig 2

)

A mathematician confuses
straight with rectilinear

As soon as I
heard the shots, I
flew as fast and
as rectilinearly
as I could!

I don't know about
rectilinear, but those
hunters certainly
can't shoot straight!
They barely nicked
my left leg.

1.0 Straight or rectilinear?

efore we can have a rational discussion

about lines

, we must

first

agree on our

definitions. The purpose of

this preliminary

exercise is not to define words for the sake of defining or in order to protect our religion.

term

s we use to communicate

ideas must be precise if want the other person to have a crisp understanding

our ideas.

The

presenter

should use

the key

words that make

or break

his

theory consistently.

Only then

we have a scientific (i.e., rational)

definition

The

word I would like to analyze and define is the

adjective

straight

What is the

scientific

definition of

straight

One way to zero in on a definition you can use consistently is to start by looking at the properties or attributes

we usually

associate with a word. For instance,

straight

seems to refer to a physical object that is rigid,

meaning,

made of a single piece

n order for a geometric figure to be straight it cannot possibly be made of

parts

, for how would we conceptualize a series of

components being straight otherwise. Is a series of tracks

straight? Would you have to compare it against a straight line to

prove that it is straight?

Indeed, we can

absolutely

guarantee that they aren't.

A series of rocks

can at best be aligned

rectilinearly

For the purposes of

Science,

if we are to use

consistently

, an

adjective may only be used in the context of

objects. A word that is

used to qualify motion or

alignment is classified as an adverb. A table may be straight. A series of

tables may

at best be aligned

rectilinearly. There is no such thing as

ONE

rectilinear

table in Science.

When we consider parts, we are not

alluding to a

single object and qualifying the whole with an adjective. We

are instead

referring to

how the

individual

components of an object are lined up

vis

vis each other

. We are

not saying that the object is

straight. We are saying that the

pieces are lined up parallel to straight:

rectilinearly.

For this we must compare

the alignment

of the

components to something that is

straight. Hence,

the definition of

straight

precedes the

definition of

rectilinear

. The

rule is:

scientific

adjectives always

before

scientific

adverbs.

Fig. 1 Straight versus rectilinear

The adjective straight has at least two requirements. One is that
it must qualify a physical object. The other one is that this object
must be continuous: made of a single piece. For the purposes of
Science, rectilinear is an adverb. This word cannot be used to
qualify objects. It may only be used to modify a series of objects
or displacement of one object. The individual is in effect placing a
straight edge next to a series of objects or locations.

However, in

Physics

, we cannot

really get away with this. What the mathematicians

are

alluding to is a

movie

So are they

going to

unroll the film and spread

the

frames side by side in a given direction? Is this

what they mean by a straight line?

In the real world, the Earth successively changes location with respect to every bit of matter in the Universe.

Although you

seem to be standing still, you are actually traveling quite fast: 30 kilometers (18 miles) per

second! That's the speed of the

Earth around the Sun. This means that the earthly ball also changes

location with respect to every object in the Universe.

So what is the ball traveling 'straight' against? The

The Moon?

The Andromeda Galaxy

Well, the mathematicians are aware of this, but they couldn't live with so much disorder. One fine day they

decided to

hammer a stake in the middle of space and assign it a fancy scientific-sounding name such as

frame of reference

.' So

whenever a mathematician talks about a 'straight line,' he really means a rectilinear

itinerary. The mathematician is talking

about a

series of dots

he plotted on a graph. Each one of these dots

is not really a dot but a

location

, the location occupied

by the ball

at a particular moment

as it went from here

to there. This 'straight

line' implicitly invokes a coordinate system

known as a

frame of reference

. Without

his goal posts, the

mathematician is

totally

lost. He cannot measure his centimeters

and miles. He cannot

talk about

'straight.'

In his tiny mind, he cannot

even

talk about Physics.

However, in the real world, there is no such thing as a rectilinear itinerary. Both, the 'straight line' and the

'frame of reference'

are surrealistic concoctions of Mathematics. The mathematician in effect freezes the

entire Universe and allows only his ball

(and hopefully himself) to move. The ball can thus move

rectilinearly

with respect to

at least one

straight edge because

everything is stand still. This enables the

mathematician

to take his measurements.

A perfect analogy for the ludicrous 'straight line' and 'frame of

reference' of Mathematical Physics is an

episode of The

Twilight Zone titled '

A kind of a

stopwatch

.' The guy

uses a watch to stop time, but for

unspecified reasons, he is

the only

one

free to move about. Yeah? No kidding?

In Physics, a

n object can move rectilinearly only if it is the sole entity in the Universe, in which case,

ironically, motion is

undefined.

Motion is defined as two or more

locations

as opposed to two or more

positions

of an object.

This is

yet

another

example of the irreconcilable differences between Math and

Physics.

If we now factor that

replacing

locations with dots

and

trajectories with lines

has little to do with Science,

the entire

foundation

of Mathematical Physics

disintegrates like a house of cards

. The mathematicians

inherited the

amusing

habit of substituting the

concept

location

with the

object

dot

from traditional religions.

And just to throw another one in, if the mathematicians are alluding to motion, they can at best qualify their

line not as

continuous

, but as

incessant

: the incessant motion of a

dot

How is

straight

different than

urved

So let's distinguish between objects and motion in order to use our terms

consistently

(i.e., scientifically).

We will use the

adjective

straight

to qualify the architectures of objects and the adverb

rectilinear

to qualify

how things are aligned. Unlike

in ordinary speech and religion, the word

rectilinear

may only be used as an

adverb for the purposes of Science.

or the purposes of

Science, it is

also

insufficient

for that which is

straight

continuous

It must have

direction

as well.

If the edge of an object is

continuous but does not have

direction, it is known as a curve.

raight (adj.)

: A continuous edge with direction. Straight is a specific type of edge.

curved (adj.)

: A continuous edge which lacks direction.

rectilinear (adv)

: 1. A series of footprints or marks which run parallel to a straight edge.

2. A series of

locations occupied by one object which, when plotted, run parallel to a

straight edge. Rectilinear

motion is surrealistic because it tacitly assumes that there is

a frame of reference (i.e., that the entire

Universe has momentarily stopped moving).

urve

edges are

implicitly '

two-dimensional

They

necessarily

encroach upon a second dimension. From

an observer's

perspective, all curved shapes have

width and height

ontrast

these definitions against the ones offered by the

athematic

ian

“ A line can be described as an ideal zero-width, infinitely long, perfectly straight

curve (the term curve in mathematics includes

straight curves

) containing an

infinite number of points.

).”

[

]

In the religion of Mathematical Physics

straight

and

curved

are synonyms

. So what have we learned? How

can the

jury

understand the theory.

.0 Conclusions

Straight

is an adjective and as such belongs exclusively to Physics – on

ly physical objects can be

conceived

as being

straight.

Mathematics has no use for adjectives. What quantitative meaning can the

qualitative word

straight

have? As a rule,

if ever you hear a mathematician use an adjective in his

presentation, you can tell him in his face that he is an idiot! A

mathematician who uses adjectives summarily

converts the logical discipline of Mathematics into a religion known as

Mathematical Physics.

Fig. 1 Straight versus rectilinear

The adjective straight has at least two requirements. One is that it
must qualify a physical object. The other one is that this object must
be continuous: made of a single piece. The adverb rectilinear alludes
to a series of objects or locations. These must be compared against
a straight edge or line.