4 ms·
Another oddity: in 4D or higher, you cannot tie a knot - the rope can always become untied by shifting in a higher dimension and bypassing the obstruction. You
by adhesive_wombat 3y ago
Another oddity: in 4D or higher, you cannot tie a knot - the rope can always become untied by shifting in a higher dimension and bypassing the obstruction.
You also can't tie a knot in 2D at all because you can't even cross the rope over itself.
So sailing in other-dimensioned universes will be very different!
- rocqua 3y agoSailing is about tying knots around things. In 4D you can still tie a rope around a 2d plane, like we tie ropes around sticks. I presume you can similarly tie knots in 'planes' with perhaps an even richer set of 'knots'.
- adhesive_wombat 3y agoWell, at least it would explain "sheet bend": the use of the word "sheet" to mean (some) rope must be an import from 4D seafaring!
- Sharlin 3y agoYou probably know this, but for the record: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheet_(sailing) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheet_(sailing)
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- zmgsabst 3y agoYou can tie a 2-knot (a sphere) in 4D. And in general, an n-sphere knots in n+2 dimensions. You even get new kinds of knot moves in higher dimensions.
- BulgarianIdiot 3y agoYou can tie planes in a 4d knot