Quote: a distance must be measured so there is no abstract distance; a property of straight lines includes the measurement

Quotation

Distances must be measured, and how shall we know that any concrete magnitude which I have measured with my material instrument really represents the abstract distance? We have only removed the difficulty a little further off. In reality, the property that I have just enunciated [about straight lines] is not a property of the straight line alone; it is a property of the straight line and of distance. ... [p. 75] I may conclude that no experiment will ever be in contradiction with Euclid's postulate; but, on the other hand, no experiment will ever be in contradiction with Lobatschewsky's postulate.   Google-1   Google-2

Published before 1923

Additional Titles

Quote: no experiment can contradict Euclid's postulate, nor can experiment contradict Lobatschewsky's postulate

Related Topics

Topic: science as measurement (36 items)
Topic: general relativity (47 items)
Topic: geometry (33 items)