These random thoughts came to me as I was weaving my bike through pedestrian traffic. Consider this my justification of why I move swiftly between destinations.
- Less wasted time: it’s more than what you’re probably thinking. According to Einstein, the faster an object travels, the slower time passes from that object’s perspective. I probably save a few trillionths of a second (maybe less) each time I commute… I’m hoping all that time adds up…
- People stay still: Although some might freeze out of fear, I think that relativity also has a lot to do with this. Relative to my speed, foot traffic covers a small distance in the same amount of time it takes me to cover a larger distance, so an opening in the crowd that I see from 30 feet away will (more than likely) still be there by the time I get there.
- Smaller target: Because of my speed, space distorts in addition to time maintain a constant speed of light. This makes my bike ever-so-slightly smaller than it actually is. Therefore, I can theoretically fit through smaller spaces.
- Wider field of vision: From my perspective, as space distorts around me, my view of my surroundings becomes slightly wide-angled (“fish-eyed”). A larger view allows me to better see my surroundings.
So what if all of these effects are only noticeable when traveling close to the speed of light. I don’t ride my bike even remotely that fast (my average speed is usually around 15 mph / 24 km/h). However, I believe I’m feeling Physics withdrawal since I’m not taking any more PHYS courses, and my inner physicist is trying to find cool physics stuff in everything I do… all to make my life seem more exciting than it actually is all to help me further realize how amazingly exciting life truly is.