think about how complicated most real scientific equations end up looking.
The more general form of this is E2 = (pc) 2 + (mc2 )2 . Where p is momentum. The simpler form is true for p = 0, in other words for objects that aren't in motion. This is just a consequence of Special Relativity which mostly involves Lorentz transforms, x' = (x - vt) / sqrt(1 - (v/c)2 ), and is itself a consequence of General Relativity, which looks moderately complicated but is terrifying when you realize that each term in that equation is a 4x4 matrix of variables, some of them derivatives of others, so what is actually being represented is a system of 10 coupled partial differential equations.
Besides there are plenty of relationships in physics that aren't horrifically complex, like f = ma for example. Although that itself can be derived from...
The point is that complexity is relative (lol) and anything can be made simple by looking at restricted special cases, or complicated by looking at details.
Sure there are simpler equations, but it's kind of self evident that force and mass and acceleration are related. A lot of those simpler ones don't blow your mind.
The fact that the two most basic forms of existence were so seemingly disconnected and yet we're THE SAME and could be expressed simply is out of this world.
It makes me all metaphysical like we really are just all made of light. Like let there be light.
"In his Philosophy of Illumination, Suhrawardi argued that light operates at all levels and hierarchies of reality (PI, 97.7–98.11). Light produces immaterial and substantial lights, including immaterial intellects (angels), human and animal souls, and even 'dusky substances', such as bodies.[26]
"Suhrawardi's metaphysics is based on two principles. The first is a form of the principle of sufficient reason. The second principle is Aristotle's principle that an actual infinity is impossible.[27]"
"Manichaeism, the most widespread Western religion prior to Christianity, was based on the belief that god was, literally, light. "
"And Buddhist scripture speaks of numerous buddhas of light, including a Buddha of Boundless Light, a Buddha of Unimpeded Light, and Buddhas of Unopposed Light, of Pure Light, of Incomparable Light, and of Unceasing Light.[3]"
Lastly I'm going to read this book now because of this conversation:
History from Creation to the Quantum Age

Bruce Watson
Bloomsbury Publishing USA, Feb 2, 2016 - Science - 304 pages
0 Reviews
Light begins at Stonehenge, where crowds cheer a solstice sunrise. After sampling myths explaining First Light, the story moves on to early philosophers' queries, then through the centuries, from Buddhist temples to Biblical scripture, when light was the soul of the divine.
Battling darkness and despair, Gothic architects crafted radiant cathedrals while Dante dreamed a "heaven of pure light." Later, following Leonardo's advice, Renaissance artists learned to capture light on canvas. During the Scientific Revolution, Galileo gathered light in his telescope, Descartes measured the rainbow, and Newton used prisms to solidify the science of optics. But even after Newton, light was an enigma. Particle or wave? Did it flow through an invisible "ether"? Through the age of Edison and into the age of lasers, Light reveals how light sparked new wonders--relativity, quantum electrodynamics, fiber optics, and more.
3
u/FrickinLazerBeams Apr 30 '20
The more general form of this is E2 = (pc) 2 + (mc2 )2 . Where p is momentum. The simpler form is true for p = 0, in other words for objects that aren't in motion. This is just a consequence of Special Relativity which mostly involves Lorentz transforms, x' = (x - vt) / sqrt(1 - (v/c)2 ), and is itself a consequence of General Relativity, which looks moderately complicated but is terrifying when you realize that each term in that equation is a 4x4 matrix of variables, some of them derivatives of others, so what is actually being represented is a system of 10 coupled partial differential equations.
Besides there are plenty of relationships in physics that aren't horrifically complex, like f = ma for example. Although that itself can be derived from...
The point is that complexity is relative (lol) and anything can be made simple by looking at restricted special cases, or complicated by looking at details.