Note 58 — Chapter XV · CONSEQUENCES OF THE NEW SPACE AND TIME MEASUREMENTS—SIMULTANEITY

By giving the same name to these two conflicting types of simultaneity, Dr. Whitehead soon falls a victim to his own terminology. Thus, in his book, “The Theory of Relativity,” he informs us that he accepts Einstein’s discovery of the relativity of simultaneity. But in so doing he does not appear to notice that the type of simultaneity which Einstein has proved to be relative to motion is the scientific type; and it has nothing in common with the neo-realistic type. This latter species is never relative to motion, but solely to position. Hence, without any justification whatsoever, Whitehead has suddenly extended to his own understanding of simultaneity a characteristic which belongs to the type he is attacking. But owing to the same name having been given to the two types, the non-scientific reader is apt to overlook the confusion, and in this way be led to a very erroneous understanding of the nature of Einstein’s discoveries.