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I've been on multiple threads that attempt to explain this celebrated theory, but I have come across some rather complex threads that is very good if you are a physicist, but no one even attempts to explain this in layman terms, so here goes:

How to explain Special Relativity to a 3 year old?

The way I see it, the average person's understanding of this theory is as good as the next person. So his understanding of this concept would be the equivalent to that of a 3 year old child.

Qmechanic
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SandyShores
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    related: http://physics.stackexchange.com/q/31/58382 – glS Dec 26 '14 at 11:02
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    Let him/her play the game ''slower speed of light''. – Paul Dec 26 '14 at 11:03
  • http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Slower_Speed_of_Light – Paul Dec 26 '14 at 11:03
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    You will find that after only a very few questions starting with "Why" you will be at the frontiers of ignorance. Why is the speed of light constant? BECAUSE IT IS! –  Dec 26 '14 at 11:07
  • If you run very very fast, nearly as fast as the light, you will grow older slower then I do. (By the way, if you stop asking why, then after a few generations you will find your descendants at the intelectual level that of the chicken.) – bright magus Dec 26 '14 at 11:08
  • Even around a black hole, does speed of light hold true @DirkBruere ? Or does Bekenstein–Hawking entropy hold true where speed of light is constant ? – SandyShores Dec 26 '14 at 11:10
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    All people are equal and all places in the universe are, too. – CuriousOne Dec 26 '14 at 11:19
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    You first explain him the Galilean relativity. Tell him that when you both are in a train, despite that the train is moving, the child sees through the window that the trees move, the houses move. So, movement is relative. After that, to come to the special relativity is a long and slow way. – Sofia Dec 26 '14 at 11:54
  • Time'll answer! ... First, teach him A,B,C ; then tell him about Sir Newton's absolute time & space & why the concept failed and gradually go to the concept of relativity. –  Dec 26 '14 at 12:22
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    Query: has some 3-yr old actually asked this, and if so, where did xe hear about relativity, or even light speed? If you're just pondering, then my recommendation is to wait until after they've at least grasped concepts like "what goes up must come down" and "big things push little things around" first. :-) – Carl Witthoft Dec 26 '14 at 12:34
  • @user36790: I'm aware of the general concept of Newton's Three Laws of Motion being only approximately correct, breaking down when velocities approached that of light. And that Newton's Law of Gravitation was also only approximately correct, breaking down in the presence of very strong gravitational fields. – SandyShores Dec 26 '14 at 12:37
  • @SandySands: Who does really want the explanation?: you or the 3 yr old infant? If you know,teach him then! Hope you are not 3yr old! –  Dec 26 '14 at 12:57
  • No, I'm the adult with the understanding in physics as that of a 3 year old. I figured if an answer pops up that is so simple and yet informative that even an 3 year old infant understands, then I'm pretty sure I can replicate the results with adults. – SandyShores Dec 26 '14 at 13:03
  • This question appears off-topic because it's asking for opinions on educating someone and not physics. – Kyle Kanos Dec 26 '14 at 13:44
  • You wait thousands of thousands of years until 3 year olds are a heck of a lot smarter than they are today. – Sean Dec 29 '14 at 18:59

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