--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: obviously it matters little if we think…" description: "\"“obviously it matters little if we think of the earth as turning about on its axis, or if we view it at rest while the fixed stars revolve around it. G..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/ernst-mach-15026_nature_obviously-it-matters-little-if-we-think_3085692.jpg" --- # obviously it matters little if we think of the earth as… ![“obviously it matters little if we think of the earth as turning about on its axis, or if we view it at rest while the fixed stars revolve around it. Geometrically these are exacly the same case of a relative rotation of the earth and the fixed stars with respect to one another.” quote by Ernst Mach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/ernst-mach-15026_nature_obviously-it-matters-little-if-we-think_3085692.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/ernst-mach-15026_nature_obviously-it-matters-little-if-we-think_3085692.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/350/ernst-mach-15026_nature_obviously-it-matters-little-if-we-think_3085692.jpg) > ““obviously it matters little if we think of the earth as turning about on its axis, or if we view it at rest while the fixed stars revolve around it. Geometrically these are exacly the same case of a relative rotation of the earth and the fixed stars with respect to one another.”” [Ernst Mach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mach/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Rotational frames are equivalent; motion is relative, not absolute. **In simple terms:** All motion is relative. Key Takeaway Consider reference frames in analysis. Themes physics relativity perception Mood analytical curious Type scientific educational When to use this quote - astronomy - engineering - education Key Concepts reference frames relative motion Questions to Reflect On - How does relativity affect everyday tech? - Why do we prefer absolute frames? 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We know that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-berger/the-relation-between-what-we-see-and-what-we-know-is-never-settled/) [John Berger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-berger/) > [Listen to the sound of the earth turning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/listen-to-the-sound-of-the-earth-turning/) [Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/) > [Remember that your natural state is joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-dyer/remember-that-your-natural-state-is-joy/) [Wayne Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-dyer/) > [It is indeed a surprising and fortunate fact that nature can be expressed by relatively low-order mathematical functions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-carnap/it-is-indeed-a-surprising-and-fortunate-fact-that-nature-can-be/) [Rudolf Carnap](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-carnap/) ## More by Ernst Mach > [Physics is experience, arranged in economical order.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mach/physics-is-experience-arranged-in-economical-order/) [Ernst Mach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mach/) > [Science itself, therefore, may be regarded as a minimal problem, consisting of the completest possible presentment of facts with the least possible expenditure of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mach/science-itself-therefore-may-be-regarded-as-a-minimal-problem/) [Ernst Mach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mach/) > [In reality, the law always contains less than the fact itself, because it does not reproduce the fact as a whole but only in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mach/in-reality-the-law-always-contains-less-than-the-fact-itself-because/) [Ernst Mach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mach/) > [The presentations and conceptions of the average man of the world are formed and dominated, not by the full and pure desire for knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mach/the-presentations-and-conceptions-of-the-average-man-of-the-world-are/) [Ernst Mach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mach/) > [“To us investigators, the concept 'soul' is irrelevant and a matter for laughter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mach/to-us-investigators-the-concept-soul-is-irrelevant-and-a-matter-for/) [Ernst Mach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mach/) > [Scientists must use the simplest means of arriving at their results and exclude everything not perceived by the senses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mach/scientists-must-use-the-simplest-means-of-arriving-at-their-results/) [Ernst Mach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mach/) > [Personally, people know themselves very poorly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mach/personally-people-know-themselves-very-poorly/) [Ernst Mach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mach/) > [“But we must not forget that all things in the world are connected with one another and depend on one another, and that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mach/but-we-must-not-forget-that-all-things-in-the-world-are-connected/) [Ernst Mach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mach/) > [If our dreams were more regular, more connected, more stable, they would also have more practical importance for us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernst-mach/if-our-dreams-were-more-regular-more-connected-more-stable-they-would/) [Ernst Mach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernst-mach/) > [Mathematics may be defined as the economy of counting. 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