"We therefore communicate best when we exploit examples, analogies, and metaphors galore, when we use abstract generalilties, when we use very down-to-earth, concrete, and simple language, and when we talk directly about our own experiences."
I saw a picture similar to this one in a talk at the conference. If you look carefully, you see a moth sitting on the tree bark. (The other moth was actually more 'hidden' than this one, but I couldn't find that picture online.)
The picture prompted some thoughts, which culminated in this statement being written in my notebook...
When the boundaries between two objects are indistinguishable, such that you do not/cannot recognize that they are two separate objects, then gravity is not apparent and cannot be inferred. When the same structure is identified as two objects, then it becomes necessary to identify a force or forces that keeps them/holds them at the relevant proximity to one another.
The issue of object classifications and boundaries came back to me again and again at various points this past week and in various contexts. But perhaps none was so startling as this one... What would we know about gravity if perceived reality weren't divided into 'separate' objects?
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