The Where and When
These two are the easiest. Everybody knows where (in space) they are and when (in time) they are. The problems start when you combine the two to become a velocity (a space or I maybe should say a distance divided by a time) that, for light, according to relativity, does not change. So one has to change the space and/or the time to keep the fraction the same. Sorta.
The What:
So the what (gravity or mass or energy) becomes way more important than the where and when…..at least on the large scale of the galaxy vs the earth. If there is more “what” then the spacetime continuum (ie-space and time are the same thing…sorta) is more curved/bent/warped. So The What trumps the Where and When?
The How:
Aristotle wrote about the Four Causes. Material cause….bricks of the house. Formal cause….plans of the house. Efficient cause…the worker with tools and energy making the house. Final cause….the purpose or teleology of the house. Science is really just/merely the mathematization of the efficient cause. So now (since the Enlightenment, anyway) the How trumps the What?
The Why:
Here’s where the tire rubber of paradox meets the spiritual road and slams into the telephone post called Agrippa’s Trilemma. Why questions wind up at: 1)a mathematical infinite regress (A→B→C→ and so on forever), 2)an algorithmic infinite loop (A→B→C→A and so on forever), or 3)god did it. So the Why trumps nothing?
I know. Pretty weird piece. Sorry. Not!