Re: Private Universe and the Seasons

[Jim Green <JMGreen@SISNA.COM>]

At 10:50 19 09 2003 , the following was  received:
> At 10:07 -0600 9/19/03, Jim Green wrote:
> >
> >In the midst of this discussion could someone please tell me what a "Sun
> >ray" is.  Is it really helpful to talk about such things?
> >
> In the final analysis, it boils down to a photon, doesn't it?
> I've been thinking about Brian's comment:

Ok now we run into another problem: no one has any ideal what  light
is.  We sometimes use the model of waves to elucidate an experiment  --
sometimes a photon -- but neither is accurate.

Who was it who used the parable of a Martian on a holiday visit?  The
Marian would have had to learn a language or two for his visit. He learned
German and French but made a navigational error and landed in St
Louis.  Alas some of the words he heard sounded like french and some of the
words sounded like German.  He could sometimes use German and sometimes
french to model an interpretation for what he heard and he dealt with this
as best he could, but he didn't really enjoy his experience.

Using rays or waves or particles as best we can helps but none of them is
accurate.  We can carry on a conversation ONLY if we remember this. If we
reify "rays" or "photons,"  we loose communication.


Jim Green
mailto:JMGreen@sisna.com
http://users.sisna.com/jmgreen