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George Gamow described In Mr. Tompkin in Wonderland a hypothetical world in which the speed of light is 10 km/h. Cyclists, who in such a world are obviously moved highly relativistically, are always seen by pedestrians as strongly contracted. Is this view always realistic?

I think It’s not always true: when the speed of a pedestrian is equal to the speed of a cyclist they don’t face the Length contraction anymore. Or am I wrong?

Tkt
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Exactly. A pedestrian running along the cyclist will see a normal cyclist and a flattened world.

Generally, the perspective of the world will warp as you move in this world: things will not just flatten, but seem to crowd in front of you as if seen through a fish-eye lens. But things moving with you will look normal.

Anders Sandberg
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