Sample Questions #2      
Space and Time, Spring 2007

1. In 1902, Poincar‚ was very comfortable with accepting the logical possibility of non-
Euclidean geometry, especially after the work of Beltrami and Klein.  Like his fellow
mathematicians of the time, he believed this discovery refuted Kant's philosophy of the
a priori nature of geometrical truths.  However, he didn't think it was the real geometry
of space.  What were Poincar‚'s views on the nature of real geometry of space, and
how did Reichenbach criticize Poincar‚?

2. How have Einstein's theories of relativity affected our civilization's understanding of
space?

3. How have Einstein's theories of relativity affected our civilization's understanding of
time?

4. Does space act on physical objects, or vice versa?  What have others said?

5. Describe the absolute elsewhere, and say why it deserves its name.  What does it
have to do with causal connection, the possibility of one event impacting another
event?  Why should we believe any events at all occur in the absolute elsewhere?

6. What does our civilization know about the beginning and far future of time, and how
do we know it?

7. Discuss why there is something rather than nothing.

8. Discuss the shape of space.