Higher-space speculation is an education in _selflessness_, for it demands the elimination of what Hinton calls _self-elements_ of observation. The diurnal motion of the sun is an example of a self-element: it has nothing to do with the sun but everything to do with the observer. The Ptolemaic system founded on this illusion tyrannized over the human mind for centuries, but who knows of how many other illusions we continue to be victims--for the worst of a self-element is that its presence is never dreamed of until it is done away with. The Theory of Relativity presents us with an effort to get rid of the self-element in regard to space and time. A self-centered man cannot do full justice to this theory: it requires of the mind a certain detachment, and the idea becomes clear in proportion as this detachment, this selflessness, is attained.

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