Relativity

Years ago I read Einstein's lay explanation of his theory of relativity. A journalist, most of whom he had considerable disdain, asked Einstein to explain his Theory of Relativity so he could understand it. Einstein said, "A young man sitting in a chair over a hot stove a minute seems like an hour. The same young man sitting on a park bench with his sweetheart an hour seems like a minute".

A few years later my paternal grandmother was visiting for several months. She was 80 years old. One day she said, "Time is getting shorter". I said, "Grandma, time doesn't get shorter. A minute is a minute, an hour is an hour, a day is a day, and a year is a year. It never changes." She replied, "You don't understand. Time is only as it relates to you. When you are 10 years old your total time experience is only 10 years. When you are 30 years old your total time experience is 30 years, and when you are 80 years old your total time experience is 80 years. So, when you're 10 years old its 1/10th. When you're 30 years old its 1/30th. And, when you are 80 years old like me it is 1/80th, and 1/80th is a lot less than 1/10th therefore time is getting shorter". I couldn't argue with that logic. She was a crusty but sharp little old lady. When Sputnik first flew she said she thought we would send men to the moon and bring them safely back. Too bad she didn't live to see it.

The best explanation of relativity was what my father said when he was 102 years old. He said, "Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer you get to the end the faster it goes."

Everything in life is relative.