Relativity - I

It was a rainy Saturday afternoon in 2004 and I was as usual busy doing nothing until I discovered a book in my friend's room which was dusting around for a while. I started going through the book in very casual way with sips of desi-chai to realize later that I was actually galloping on the book. When I was done with my non-stop breath-taking ride of around 250 pages (which took at least 10-11 hours), I was speechless and uttered only three words from my mouth: OMG

The very first time in my life, I realized the importance of Relativity. Sounds very simple but the impact this reading triggered through my system; was remarkable. If I try to explain it here, it would be injustice on my part but I would surely like to share my experiences around it.

Relativity literally means: To relate, in relation to. In order to relate, there are two or more objects needed. Can a single object be related (read it compared) to itself? NO. Can a dot on a piece of paper be compared to itself? No, it cannot be. Definition of small, big doesn't come into picture until another dot is drawn. Now new dot can be compared (read it Related) to previous dot to define how and where it is placed. So relation is always comparison and in order to find ones own identity, one needs to relate or compare oneself with others to confirm where one stands. What about the paper itself? Is it not a comparison that paper is being called a paper and dot is referred to as Dot.

Are these two dots sufficient on a piece of paper? In order to define a DOT fully, one needs to know all the properties a DOT can posses; like thickness, length, width, color etc. And then one needs to draw all possible DOTS to compare and see what different possibilities are.


We are all DOTS in the piece of paper which is this world. In order to define us fully, there are all possible types of objects around. One less type of DOT and world is incomplete. This is the beauty of relativity. Each Dot has its own properties which are so unique that it gives that object a unique set of characteristics. One dot in relation to ALL others is what defines that DOT. If a DOT excludes to be in relation with another set of DOTS , it leaves behind its chance to explore its own quality, its own identity. For example, if a DOT excludes to be in relation to another set of DOTS which are smaller in nature, it would never know that it actually is big. So in order to know its own identity, it needs a relation. To understand our own identity, we need relations.

To be continued...