4 ms·

Good answer, a 4th dimension and the shadow projection analogy is brilliantly exemplified by Carl Sagan in this popular video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U

• travisjungroth 6y ago
  I think it's also the most important analogy, more than things like a 2D being meeting a 3D being. The goal of these physics models is to better explain the world. It's a hint that a model is better when it simplifies things (not that the model itself is necessarily simple). Think of the crazy things astronomers drew to explain the paths of the planets in the sky with the Earth in the center and circular orbits. But what if the Sun is in the center and the orbits are ellipses? Things are way easier. Same thing happens if you look at the projection of a cube. It looks like chaos. But if you are aware of a third dimension, it all makes a lot of sense.