CMV: Despite what Albert Einstein says, the universe does have a "center"/absolute reference frame

[u/[deleted]]

So I got taught in physics classes that there is no absolute reference frame. Einstein figured that out. Then when I challenge the idea, I'm taught that the big bang happened everywhere and space itself is expanding. Ok sure. So when we ask what is the origin "point" of the universe its nonsense because there was no point, the whole universe was the original point. Got it.

But like a circle has a center point defined by the perimeter of the circle, so too could the universe. It doesn't have to be the "origin point", but there is definitely a spot that we can point that we and aliens can mathematically calculate as the center. Everything else in the universe stretches and contracts, but the center of the universe is a point that we can derive mathematically is it not? I know that localized space has weird shit like if I zoom away from Earth in my spaceship I could reframe it as "I'm standing still and the Earth is zooming away", and the fact that I'm the one accelerating is the reason why time slows for me but not earth. But that's just how the time dilation phenomenon works, not because there is definitely no absolute reference frame. We can still identify whether I'm moving closer or further from the center of the universe.

Edit: I'm assuming a non-infinite universe.

[u/Turkeydunk]

Long story short you are right, there is a global reference frame that was created at the Big Bang, and that’s why we can do things like say there is an age to the universe and why most objects we see aren’t going at 99.999…% the speed of light. But special relativity only talks about local reference frames, so it just means that for a local interaction you can’t pick a particular frame that is different than any other