爱因斯坦只问自然规律在给定的参照系中是什么样子。他从未问自己是否存在决定参照系本身的规律。至多，他寻求了一个间接的答案，并陷入了混乱——但这是最具创造性的混乱。

It is important not to be overawed by the genius of Einstein. He did have blind spots. One was his lack of concern about the determination in practice of the distinguished frames that play such a vital role in special relativity – he simply took them for granted. It is true that they are realized approximately on the reassuringly solid Earth in skilfully engineered railway carriages. But how does one find them in the vast reaches of space? This is not a trivial question. Matching this lack of practical interest, we find an absence of theoretical concern. Einstein asked only what the laws of nature look like in given frames of reference. He never asked himself whether there are laws that determine the frames themselves. At best, he sought an indirect answer and got into a muddle – but a most creative muddle.
重要的是不要被爱因斯坦的天才吓倒。他确实存在盲区。其中一个盲区是他对那些在狭义相对论中起着至关重要的作用的特殊框架的实际确定缺乏关注——他只是理所当然地接受了这些框架。的确，它们在令人放心的坚实的地球上以精巧设计的火车车厢的形式得到了近似实现。但是，人们如何在浩瀚的宇宙中找到它们呢？这不是一个无关紧要的问题。与这种缺乏实际兴趣相对应的是，我们发现理论关注的缺失。爱因斯坦只问自然规律在给定的参照系中是什么样子。他从未问自己是否存在决定参照系本身的规律。至多，他寻求了一个间接的答案，并陷入了混乱——但这是最具创造性的混乱。