Is Einstein God?

Year after year, many students learned the theory of relativity. Time dilation, length contraction, all magic stuff. But soon, some people realize the symmetry of these concepts. If you find my time slowing down, I also find your time slowing down. This is the twin paradox. Authorities repeatedly assure us that the paradox has been resolved. Has it?

The following statement is a representative opinion about the twin paradox.

This paradox is discussed in many books but solved in very few. When the paradox is addressed, it is usually done so only briefly, by saying that the one who feels the acceleration is the one who is younger at the end of the trip. Hence, the brother who travels to the star is younger. While the result is correct, the explanation is misleading. [1]

The authorities conceded that “the explanation is misleading”. At the same time, they insisted that “the result is correct”. Relativity theory is not a new theory. It is over a century old. Relativity theory is not an obscure theory. It is the very foundation of modern physics. After over a century, no one could produce a single explanation that is non-misleading. Couldn’t we question if “the result is correct”? [2]

Yet those raised questions are marginalized. They become outcast. If you insist to communicate your ideas, you get excommunicated. In media, those who blaspheme relativity and Einstein are often associated with evils, and those who are loyal to relativity and Einstein are hailed as heroes. The opening scene of the recently released Three Body Problem from Netflix reinforces such an image. But the mainstream media rarely mention that Einstein was a fellow traveller of those supposed evils. [3] In such suffocating environment, free exchange of ideas becomes nearly impossible.

References

1.     Lasky, R.C., 2003. How does relativity theory resolve the twin paradox. Scientific American. March 17, 2003.

2.     Chen, J. 2024, A New Theory about the Movement of Light, working paper.

3.     Litten, Frederick S.  "Einstein and the Noulens Affair," British Journal for the History

        Of Science, Vol. 24, No. 4 (1991), pp. 465-6