“People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.” ~Albert Einstein
Likely, you’ve heard about the twin paradox, a thought experiment on time dilation. Two identical twins stand on Earth. One twin enters a spacecraft and travels near the speed of light for one year. When that twin returns to Earth, the other twin is now decades older. The same amount of “time” has passed, but one twin experiences a lifetime, while the other experiences a single year. As crazy as the idea sounds, real life experiments prove the prediction in Einstein’s special theory of relativity that time is not a fixed constant; time is relative.
Even the brightest theoretical physicist can struggle to define the concept of time. In mathematics, time depends on your speed in relation to another object, or your distance from a gravitational source. I challenge you to define time for yourself—not by how much of it you have, but by what you do with it. Your time may be relative, now make it relevant.
What better month than January to reflect on topics like:
- Time management
- Individualized development plans
- Responsible conduct in research
- Compliant grant applications
You’ll find these topics and more inside this issue, including numerous January announcements and events. Still need more time-saving advice? If all else fails, you could do your work on a mountain, as far away from Earth’s gravitational pull as possible. Yes, that might buy you a few nanoseconds of time.
Happy New Year!
Your Editor in Chief,
Shana R. Spindler, PhD
Please send your questions, comments, and ideas to Shana.Spindler@gmail.com.
