It's best to separate two elements here -- the measured speed of light, and the relationship between space and time. The relationship between space and time is easily expressed in closed form:
t' = t √(1-v^2/c^2)
That's pretty clear and easy to interpret. So measurements of c may be messy and subject to controversy, but the geometry expressed in the above equation, and what it tells us about spacetime, is much more clear.
Comments
It's best to separate two elements here -- the measured speed of light, and the relationship between space and time. The relationship between space and time is easily expressed in closed form:
t' = t √(1-v^2/c^2)
That's pretty clear and easy to interpret. So measurements of c may be messy and subject to controversy, but the geometry expressed in the above equation, and what it tells us about spacetime, is much more clear.