From Copernicus to Einstein

THIS little book purports to serve as an introduction to the great problems of space, time and motion. The inquiries it is concerned with are very old. Men have been forming ideas concerning space and time since times immemorial, and curiously enough, have been writing and fighting about these things with the greatest interest, even fanaticism. This has been a strange strife, indeed, having little to do with economic necessities; it has always dealt with abstract things, far removed from our daily Iife and with no direct influence upon our daily activities. Why do we need to know whether the sun revolves around the earth or vice versa? What business of ours is it, anyway? Can this knowledge be of any use to us? No sooner have we uttered these questions than we become aware of their foolishness. It may not be of any use to us, but we want to know something about these problems. We do not want to go blindly through the world. We desire more than a mere existence. We need these cosmic perspectives in order to be able to experience a feeling for our place in the world.