The Fundamental Difference Between First and Second Hand Obervation

The analysis presented in the recent sequence of posts shows that Einstein’s special theory of relativity seeks to answer a question, which should not be posed, because it is in conflict with the Postulate of SR as the theoretical foundation of SR. The question posed by Einstein is illogical and so is Einstein's answer.

More precisely, Einstein’s SR dictates/prescribes through a Lorentz transformation what Observer1 at rest in a coordinate system S1 allowing first hand observation, will observe in a different coordinate system S2 moving with respect to S1 as second hand information transformed from first hand observation of Observer2 at rest in S2.

Observer1 thus has first hand information about time by reading his clock, but only second hand information about the clock of Observer2.

The analysis shows that it is the incompatibility between first and second hand information, which gives rise to the paradoxes/contradictions of SR.

More generally, it is important to distinguish between first hand information based on observation in direct contact with reality and second hand information resulting from a transformation without direct contact with reality.

This is very obvious in criminal cases with a fundamental difference between witness from direct observation of a murder as compared to witness based only on hearsay. Also in science it is important to seek the original source of a both theory and observation, understanding that transformation can distort. Thus text books of physics generally present what is already written in previous text books in a hierarchy of second hand information where the original source is successively distorted or is simply missing.