Kinematics: The Lost Origins of Einstein's Relativity

The field of kinematics—the science of motion—has long been neglected and misrepresented. Despite rich traditions rooted in ancient times, modern physical kinematics never became a professional discipline. No journals or academic societies were founded to support its development and study and most physicists took the science of motion for granted. Yet some came to doubt its very principles, even denouncing its basic language—coordinate algebra—as an impediment to scientific progress.

In this...