A thought experiment developed by Galileo.
Let’s say you’re on a cruise ship below deck (you can’t see outside) and holding a ball. The ship is moving forward at whatever speed you like. You drop the ball. All you will observe is the ball dropping to the floor. But, imagine there’s an observer outside the ship and you have X-ray vision, you will see the ship moving forward and you dropping the ball.
Why I love this thought experiment:
When you’re below deck or unable to see outside the ship, you will experience very little to tell you the ship is moving forward.
Both you and the observer will see you ball drop vertically to the floor.
Only the observer will notice you moving forward at the same time.
Galileo’s ship is not only an early inspiration for what we would come to know as relativity, it’s an antidote we need as a culture - scientific empathy.
Another way to think of scientific empathy is perception gathering. If you’re sighted, your left eye perceives the world differently than the right. Your brain collects both perspectives and develops a singular vision that is your world.
When we find ourselves in disagreement with others, perhaps we need to take a ride on Galileo’s Ship, try to see the world from the other’s vantage point - gather perspective, and then create a more complete - and inclusive - story to tell ourselves.