Beware of Fourth Dimensional Creatures
I'm watching Carl Sagan's Cosmos series, particularly the episode on galaxies, the expanding universe and Flatland. He was showing the village of Flatland with all of its two dimensional creatures. A three dimensional apple decides to visit Mr. Square of 123 Flatland St., Flatland. It lands unhindered by the walls on a Flatland hut and presents itself in three dimension: four little apple bottom lumps appear. The same apple's geometry would change as it sunk into Flatland and presented new planes.
What breaks my brain is that this single object first presents itself as four separated objects from a two dimensional perspective. What if a) every object presents all of its dimension; and b) objects in our world are connected from a perspective of higher dimension?
What if every object presents all of its dimensions? In the Flatland example: the apple had three dimensions but Mr. Square had two? Scientists used to theorize that there were monopoles: magnetic objects have positive and negative poles so there must be a way to get an object to present only a positive or negative pole. So far, that theory hasn't panned out. What if the idea of Mr. Square is also a false assumption. Mr. Apple presents two dimensions in Flatland but Mr. Square is also three dimensions and presents only a plane? If that's the case, then what is going on with our unseen dimensions? Superstring theory has predicted that there is a ten dimensional universe and we experience three dimensions, so something is going on with those additional dimensions.
What if objects in our world are connected from a perspective of higher dimension? Remember Mr. Apple's bottom bumps? Mr. Square would say that the bumps are four separate objects. What if we were presented in three dimensions but some other three dimensional object is connected to us via a fourth, fifth or sixth dimension? For example, think about the apple tree with all its apples connected to the tree in the third dimension. Because they're contiguous in the three dimension they are connected somewhere in all of the dimensions. Pluck the apple in our third dimension and you have to ask: Is it now apart from the tree? It is on the third dimension, but is there still a vine at right angles to all our three dimensions that hooks the apple to the tree? Objects and phenomenon have to stay in their dimensional perspective, so anything that stays in our three dimensions would have to stay put: it couldn't jump nutrients from the apple tree over the fourth dimensional vine to the apple sitting in your fridge because the trickle of moisture and vitamins are third dimensional objects. With that said, go back to the three dimension Mr. Apple in Flatland. When it starts to rot, you see it rotting on all of the planes presented in the second dimension. That apple could still be on the tree at the same time its doing a home invasion on Mr. Square. Until the planes slice all the way up the apple, hit the stem and keep going to the tree would Mr. Square know that the apple is still connected.
Just some thoughts to break your brain on a Sunday morning.
What breaks my brain is that this single object first presents itself as four separated objects from a two dimensional perspective. What if a) every object presents all of its dimension; and b) objects in our world are connected from a perspective of higher dimension?
What if every object presents all of its dimensions? In the Flatland example: the apple had three dimensions but Mr. Square had two? Scientists used to theorize that there were monopoles: magnetic objects have positive and negative poles so there must be a way to get an object to present only a positive or negative pole. So far, that theory hasn't panned out. What if the idea of Mr. Square is also a false assumption. Mr. Apple presents two dimensions in Flatland but Mr. Square is also three dimensions and presents only a plane? If that's the case, then what is going on with our unseen dimensions? Superstring theory has predicted that there is a ten dimensional universe and we experience three dimensions, so something is going on with those additional dimensions.
What if objects in our world are connected from a perspective of higher dimension? Remember Mr. Apple's bottom bumps? Mr. Square would say that the bumps are four separate objects. What if we were presented in three dimensions but some other three dimensional object is connected to us via a fourth, fifth or sixth dimension? For example, think about the apple tree with all its apples connected to the tree in the third dimension. Because they're contiguous in the three dimension they are connected somewhere in all of the dimensions. Pluck the apple in our third dimension and you have to ask: Is it now apart from the tree? It is on the third dimension, but is there still a vine at right angles to all our three dimensions that hooks the apple to the tree? Objects and phenomenon have to stay in their dimensional perspective, so anything that stays in our three dimensions would have to stay put: it couldn't jump nutrients from the apple tree over the fourth dimensional vine to the apple sitting in your fridge because the trickle of moisture and vitamins are third dimensional objects. With that said, go back to the three dimension Mr. Apple in Flatland. When it starts to rot, you see it rotting on all of the planes presented in the second dimension. That apple could still be on the tree at the same time its doing a home invasion on Mr. Square. Until the planes slice all the way up the apple, hit the stem and keep going to the tree would Mr. Square know that the apple is still connected.
Just some thoughts to break your brain on a Sunday morning.
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