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segelnhoch3 t1_j6nq4q1 wrote

Reply to comment by NIRPL in ELI5 why time slows down as you go faster by -cool--beans-

Its a statement that is so basic, you cannot prove it. Because it is (together with other axioms) the basis for every proof.

These are the "assumptions" we make in order to get startet with proving stuff. For example, in math there is an axiom "there exists (the concept of) infinity" You cannot really prove this without using other statements like it that can't be proven.

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breckenridgeback t1_j6o6fyq wrote

In this case, "axiom" is a bit misleading. It's an assumption, but not an axiom.

Relativity arose out of the observation that the speed of light was the same for all observers, which had become clear by the time relativity was developed. What relativity does is goes back and says "okay, what assumptions about physics are wrong in order for that to be possible?"

It turns out the wrong assumption was the idea that all observers, regardless of position or movement, agree on lengths in space and time.

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