Something I wrote on the Autumnal Equinox, 2006, reposting today
on the Vernal Equinox, 2015:* -both equal day and night days.
Multiple (physical) Dimensions for dummies More along the lines
of multidimensional mapping: Okay! I'm thinking this way:
EXPRESSING 2 DIMENSIONS IN 1 DIMENSION. Start with a line. ____
If you had to express 2 dimensions in 1 dimension, how would you
do it? You'd use two lines, and just remember that the 2nd line
is going in a dimension you cannot directly manipulate. ______
______ EXPRESSING 3 DIMENSIONS IN 2 DIMENSIONS. Okay - you have
two dimensions. | | | |_______ You want to express 3 dimensions
in 2 dimensions? | | | |_______ | | | |_______ You would just
have to remember that the 2nd |_ is representing the 3rd
dimension - going "up" in a direction you can't directly
manipulate [but since we're in 3 dimensions, we could simply
pick up the 2nd |_ and flip it around into a 3 dimensional
shape). But as a 2 dimensional being, you wouldn't be able to
use the parlor trick of making a 3D-looking box in 2 dimensions,
because you can only think 3 dimensionally in theory - perhaps
even mathematically. EXPRESSING 4 DIMENSIONS IN 3 DIMENSIONS
Okay - we're getting limited already, because e-mail is 2
dimensions. You have a 3D cube. You want to express a 4D cube.
How to do it? Same way! You have another cube. Two cubes. But
the two cubes are really 1 cube, just stretching upwards in a
direction that we cannot perceive. Notice what's happening
here!!! Each dimension is STILL being expressed by a 1
dimensional thing: The _________. For 2 dimensions, you have a
GROUP of 2 or more ________ for 3 dimensions you have a GROUP of
3 or more _________ For 4 dimensions, you have a group of 4 or
more _________ OR: You have two dimensions: | |___ To get three
dimensions, you need TWO of these: | |___ | |___ always
remembering that the 2nd one is flipped 'up', towards you. Now,
same logic: You have 3 dimensions. A cube. To get 4 dimensions,
you need 2 CUBES. or 3 2D |_'s or 4 ____ (lines). To get FIVE
dimensions, you need 2 4D cubes at minimum. BUT - since we are
limited in expressing ourselves in 3 dimensions, we have other
options!! 3 3D cubes will express 5 dimensions minimally. 4 2D
|_'s will express 5 dimensions minimally as well... 5 ____'S
will also express 5 dimensions. [to see 5 dimensions in a common
computer application, see Microsoft Excel. You have Row: 1 [one
dimension) You have Column A (2nd dimension) You have Worksheet
named: REPORT_1 (3rd dimension) You have Filename named:
NOV_REPORTS.XLS (4th dimension) You have Directory named:
C:\REPORTS\ (5th dimension) etc. It seems to get "flat" after
you have the 4th dimension - but it's not! NOTICE THIS! A
DIRECTORY (5) can have a collection of Excel FILES (4). An Excel
FILE (4) can have a collection of WORKSHEETS (3). A WORKSHEET
(3) can have a collection of COLUMNS (2) A COLUMN (2) can have a
collection of ROWS (1). [and one single cell, which is in a row
that is in a column, that is in a worksheet, that is in a file,
that is in a directory, can reference ANY OTHER cell in any
other DIRECTORY, or FILE, or WORKSHEET, or COLUMN, or even ROW!]
] A box inside of boxes is a way often used to express
multidimensionality. Even time! -- Look at Russian nesting
dolls. They express, in one small package, 4 dimensions. It is
the same person, at different stages in time. The Russian
nesting doll is a 4 dimensional object. Pretty neat stuff.
Thanks for listening - thoughts? Kenneth
