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This was a very well written discourse on the existence of different universes, and a bit of an intuition about how to think about them. It reminds me a lot (t
by pserwylo 13y ago
This was a very well written discourse on the existence of different universes, and a bit of an intuition about how to think about them.
It reminds me a lot (though it is quite different) of "Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions" [0]. This book gave me the best intuition yet about what it would be like to experience a fourth spatial dimension.
Having said that, I still don't quite know what to think about it. I definitely don't have a mental picture of what it would be like. All I know is that when I was reading the book, I had a part of my brain clicking along, which felt like it understood what it is to experience an additional spatial dimension. Yet there is still very little actual comprehension going on in there.
[A bit of a spoiler alert follows]
It starts by explaining in meticulous detail what it is like to live in and experience fictional 2D world instead of the 3D one we are used to.
Then, the main character transcends into a 1D world. The book explains to the 2D inhabitant what it is like to live in a 1D world. Explaining this to the 2D inhabitant is the same as explaining the 2D world to us (and our 3D world).
Finally, the character moves up to a 3D world, which they cannot comprehend. However the explanations which are given to the character are quite intuitive and satisfying, and help to explain what it might be like for us to move up one dimension and experience it.
[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatland https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatland
p.s. The book is also a hilarious parody on victorian era attitudes towards women.
- afatc 13y agoThere's a 5min video on youtube by TED-Ed that sums up the Flatland topic. Is really good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6kn6nXMWF0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6kn6nXMWF0
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]