| _version_ | 1866901267108855808 |
|---|---|
| author | Doumbouya, Lisa |
| author_facet | Doumbouya, Lisa |
| contents | <p dir="ltr">The so-called Andromeda Paradox, introduced by Roger Penrose (Penrose, R. (1989)), is frequently cited as evidence that Einsteinian relativity implies a “block universe” in which future events are already fixed. We show that this conclusion rests on a category error: the paradox relies on claims about causally inaccessible, spacelike-separated events that cannot be operationally defined, synchronized, or observed. When causality is enforced—as required by relativity itself—the paradox dissolves. Relativity constrains coordinate assignments of distant events, not their physical or ontological completion. The Andromeda Paradox therefore has no physical content and cannot be used to infer determinism or a fixed future.</p> <p> </p> |
| format | Recurso digital |
| id | zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_18070214 |
| institution | Zenodo |
| language | |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publisher | Zenodo |
| record_format | zenodo |
| spellingShingle | The Andromeda Paradox Is Not a Physical Paradox Doumbouya, Lisa relativity of simultnanetu causality operational defnintion clock synchonization spacelike separation phylsical observability Einstein train experiment andromeda paradox block universe Frame dependence philosophy of time temporal onotology special relativity light-cone structure Relativity of simultaneity coordinate time <p dir="ltr">The so-called Andromeda Paradox, introduced by Roger Penrose (Penrose, R. (1989)), is frequently cited as evidence that Einsteinian relativity implies a “block universe” in which future events are already fixed. We show that this conclusion rests on a category error: the paradox relies on claims about causally inaccessible, spacelike-separated events that cannot be operationally defined, synchronized, or observed. When causality is enforced—as required by relativity itself—the paradox dissolves. Relativity constrains coordinate assignments of distant events, not their physical or ontological completion. The Andromeda Paradox therefore has no physical content and cannot be used to infer determinism or a fixed future.</p> <p> </p> |
| title | The Andromeda Paradox Is Not a Physical Paradox |
| topic | relativity of simultnanetu causality operational defnintion clock synchonization spacelike separation phylsical observability Einstein train experiment andromeda paradox block universe Frame dependence philosophy of time temporal onotology special relativity light-cone structure Relativity of simultaneity coordinate time |
| url | https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18070214 |