Everything is relative

A statement used by relativists (not usually in the sense of Einsteinian physics, although they sometimes use this phrase, but by the philosophers, people like Derrida etc). It is used to state their belief that everything we have: morality, logic and artistic merit are all relative concepts, relative to who we are and what we have done; there is no absolute morality, for instance.

This is kind of a ridiculous position. Particularly, it is so, because "Everything is relative" is an absolute, not a relative statement. This effectively makes it a self negating statement and thus opens a whole can of worms on the topic.

On a more mundane than philosophical level, this statement is actually quite important to have in mind. The reason? Well, "all" interesting statements in the real world have a point of view. It is important to remember that most things are subjective. I'm still not really thinking about the philosophical implications here, but on the implications in everyday language.

What is a long time? What is small? What is fast? Is this a good node?

To illustrate what I mean, I'd like to quote a maths teacher I never had. He asked his class "Is 25 cm much?". Most people might think "No, that's not much". Why? Is a 25 cm layer of cheese on your toast much? Is a 25 cm car ride much? Do you see what I'm getting at? There is no such thing as "much". Or "fast". Or any other, similar word. Because everything is relative. It all depends on your perspective.

One day, I'll stop ranting...