"Let me ask you: what is a second, a meter, the speed of light, and even a kilogram?" I stood before a huge auditorium, an amphitheater-like structure descending downwards, and the open windows let in fresh air, as if trying to cope with the stuffiness from such an abundance of people.
A girl in the front row raised her hand and I nodded, allowing her to answer.
"Measures of time, length and weight."
"Whatever the question, so the answer!" I laughed, and laughter echoed throughout the room. "But what, exactly, is the point of these calculations? Suppose we all lived on a planet located a little further in orbit from Urvashi. Would we initially have the same measures of length, weight, and time?"
"No," the girl answered confidently.
"Why?"
"Because when gravity changes, the weight of an object changes, and when the planet's rotation lasts longer, concepts such as time also change."
"There!" I raised a finger, pointing at her. "That's what I was aiming for. So far, no one has created a universal calendar; everyone ties their calculations, including time, to their home planet. This is extremely inconvenient: essentially, on another planet, you'd need two sets of clocks. And many governors have realized this. Now let's think about why we need all these tools at all? For example, for construction, for creating supply chains, for tracking the balance between incoming and outgoing materials, for organizing labor, and so on. All of this is tied to an unstable value, which, like gravity, varies from planet to planet. And if you, for example, want to manufacture a part on one planet and use it on another, there needs to be a size converter."
"The Goa'uld had one," I continued, "they realized all these problems long ago, so I didn't worry about the details for the Alkesh."
"Of course, humanity typically lives on planets with gravity between 0.8 and 1.3 g, but other challenges remain. For example, on the planet Abydos, a day lasts 36 of our hours, and people live there. Now imagine explaining to them the technological process of mixing concrete or organizing any kind of construction. A multitude of problems would immediately arise. Therefore, as homework, you will be recalculating a number of technological processes for other planets. I have data on many possible planets, so I can guarantee that everyone will have an individualized task."
I pointed to a sizable stack of folders containing data on various planets and fairly simple problems in theoretical mechanics, strength of materials, and mechanics. All of this needed to be recalculated based on the new input data.
We understand the world around us through experimentation and change our opinions about certain events using the tools available to us. But when new planets appear, our tools have to be modified. Even for the sake of mundane trade: a kilogram of carrots on one planet may be 950 grams on another. And the same is true for any item, including expensive products, where every gram matters. A scientist's tools are largely tied to the practical implementation of their capabilities. Beyond deeply theoretical sciences, such as astronomy, which until recently had no practical value, there were many practical fields, such as architecture. But on every planet I've visited, the tools are limited by the fact that everyone wants to consider their own method of calculation as the starting point. Therefore, when interacting with other cultures, it is necessary to clarify their methods of calculation. Now that the introduction is out of the way, we can move on to the constituent parts of matter, which are so universal that the Ancient Races created a language using the elements so that anyone who is sufficiently evolved can understand them."
Switching the projector, I brought up a hydrogen atom on the screen.
"Probably anyone who's studied astronomy will exclaim, 'We've seen this somewhere!' Yes, you've seen it in the sky, but it's not the sky. It's the building block of the universe, the most common one in it. They even say there's as much nonsense in the universe as hydrogen. For example, it burns in the star that shines on us. Now, using this element as an example, we'll analyze what every other element is made of."
Yes, teaching was a truly enjoyable experience.