Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 8 hours ago
If everything in the universe suddenly became 1000 times bigger, would you notice?
Julian Barbour shares a thought experiment from Henri Poincaré: if all lengths in the universe were scaled up overnight, every ratio and every shape would stay the same. When you woke up, you wouldn’t detect any “astounding transformation” at all.
The point being that absolute size doesn’t matter... what’s physically meaningful are ratios, shapes, and relations.
Julian's new FQxI masterclass “Complexity in the Universe” is out now: Limited-time introductory offer, 70% off. Use coupon code YOUTUBE70 at checkout to purchase your first month for just $3.30 (instead of $11/month), or make a one-time payment of $16.50 for six months access (usual price will be $55 for six months' access). Introductory offer ends 7th January 2026.
SIGN UP HERE: qacademy.fqxi.org/sign-up-to-complexity-in-the-cosmos
If everything in the universe suddenly became 1000 times bigger, would you notice?
Julian Barbour shares a thought experiment from Henri Poincaré: if all lengths in the universe were scaled up overnight, every ratio and every shape would stay the same. When you woke up, you wouldn’t detect any “astounding transformation” at all.
The point being that absolute size doesn’t matter... what’s physically meaningful are ratios, shapes, and relations.
Julian's new FQxI masterclass “Complexity in the Universe” is out now: Limited-time introductory offer, 70% off. Use coupon code YOUTUBE70 at checkout to purchase your first month for just $3.30 (instead of $11/month), or make a one-time payment of $16.50 for six months access (usual price will be $55 for six months' access). Introductory offer ends 7th January 2026.
SIGN UP HERE: qacademy.fqxi.org/sign-up-to-complexity-in-the-cosmos
