🚀 go-pugleaf

firth@sei.cmu.edu (Robert Firth) writes:
: In article <1992Oct5.091234.29484@nuscc.nus.sg> matmcinn@nuscc.nus.sg (Mcinnes B T (Dr)) writes:
: 
: >So naturally what I meant was that CLASSICAL spacetime IS a
: >semi-riemannian manifold.
: 
: ... and later ...
: 
: >Spacetime is the set of all events.
: 
: Now I'm *really* confused!  Which of the above mutually contradictory
: views do you in fact hold?

No contradiction. The assertion is that the set of all events is a
manifold. We often picture manifolds as consisting of structureless
points, but that is not necessary. For example, the frame bundle over a
manifold is itself a manifold, though its elements are by no means
"points" in the sense of Euclid. A typical element of the set
"spacetime" would be "George Bush groans"...ie an "event".
Maybe this is what will happen in quantum gravity: [CAUTION: baseless
speculation follows] maybe we will no longer be allowed to ignore the
structure of the events in spacetime: maybe the nature of the "points"
themselves will have to be taken into account.                      ?