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But the fourth dimension is timespace, is it not? At least that was what I gathered from Special and General Relativity and the relativity of simultaneity. X^t,

But the fourth dimension is timespace, is it not? At least that was what I gathered from Special and General Relativity and the relativity of simultaneity. X^t, Y^t, Z^t?

sp332 12y ago
This game isn't real life! In the game there are four spatial dimensions, just because the game designer decided to have four.
- foolrush 12y ago
  Which is an awful lot like a 4th dimension. Arguably we are all 4th dimensional travellers, albeit somewhat constrained along one of the axes. Granted, you had me at “This game isn't real life!”
  - sp332 12y ago
    Oh, and the game also has a time dimension (which works normally I think, just one-way at one speed), so I guess that's 5 :)
pizza 12y ago
When people talk about physics that's what it means. But nothing stops you from making a game with 4 independent axes you can move along.
SerpentJoe 12y ago
Whatever you decide "the" fourth dimension "is" (what's the first? second? third?), it doesn't stop someone else from imagining a world with an additional spatial dimension. Relativity does imply a close relationship between time and space but the game world doesn't appear relativistic.
gamerDude 12y ago
In a lot of cases, the fourth dimension is describe as space. But if you were looking into string theory, often times there are description of many spatial dimensions, say 11 spatial dimensions and then a single dimension of time. We could also have multi-dimension time dimensions as well. The idea of parallel universes where at least one decision is made differently from our own could instead be different dimensions of time. Move to the left or right in time and experience different choices as opposed to only going forward as I assume most of us do now. :D
laxatives 12y ago
I don't think dimensions are specifically numbered. You could call up one dimension, distance along a fixed track another dimension, and distance from the sun your third dimension. You could call temperature your fourth dimension and mass your fifth. This game specifically has 4 spatial dimensions.
kazagistar 12y ago
That is one way of numbering dimensions, in a certain model of the universe. However, in a 2d game, time might be a "third dimension". Or time might be sufficiently distinct in some model that it does not behave like a dimension at all. If I write an equation, and graph it, it has as many dimensions as variables. Those variables might have nothing to do with time OR space.
aaron695 12y ago
> But the fourth dimension is timespace, is it not? No. Only in science fiction novels. It'd need to be measured in meters to make sense as a real 4th dimension.
TophWells 12y ago
What the fourth dimension is depends entirely on what order you put the dimensions in :)
coldtea 12y ago
No, it's actually not. For one, dimensions aren't numbered. Time is only called "fourth" because we just add it as an extra to the 3 spatial dimensions we perceive intuitively. Not because there's some specific order. There can be an arbitrary number of special dimensions in mathematics (hence hypercubes, etc). And according to some (quite prevalent) physics theories, there are actually more than 3 spatial dimensions in the actual reality -- string theory calculations give 10 spatial dimensions.

But the fourth dimension is timespace, is it not? At least that was what I gathered from Special and General Relativity and the relativity of simultaneity. X^t, Y^t, Z^t?

sp332 12y ago

This game isn't real life! In the game there are four spatial dimensions, just because the game designer decided to have four.

foolrush 12y ago
Which is an awful lot like a 4th dimension. Arguably we are all 4th dimensional travellers, albeit somewhat constrained along one of the axes. Granted, you had me at “This game isn't real life!”
- sp332 12y ago
  Oh, and the game also has a time dimension (which works normally I think, just one-way at one speed), so I guess that's 5 :)

pizza 12y ago

When people talk about physics that's what it means. But nothing stops you from making a game with 4 independent axes you can move along.

SerpentJoe 12y ago

Whatever you decide "the" fourth dimension "is" (what's the first? second? third?), it doesn't stop someone else from imagining a world with an additional spatial dimension. Relativity does imply a close relationship between time and space but the game world doesn't appear relativistic.

gamerDude 12y ago

In a lot of cases, the fourth dimension is describe as space. But if you were looking into string theory, often times there are description of many spatial dimensions, say 11 spatial dimensions and then a single dimension of time. We could also have multi-dimension time dimensions as well. The idea of parallel universes where at least one decision is made differently from our own could instead be different dimensions of time. Move to the left or right in time and experience different choices as opposed to only going forward as I assume most of us do now. :D

laxatives 12y ago

I don't think dimensions are specifically numbered. You could call up one dimension, distance along a fixed track another dimension, and distance from the sun your third dimension. You could call temperature your fourth dimension and mass your fifth. This game specifically has 4 spatial dimensions.

kazagistar 12y ago

That is one way of numbering dimensions, in a certain model of the universe. However, in a 2d game, time might be a "third dimension". Or time might be sufficiently distinct in some model that it does not behave like a dimension at all. If I write an equation, and graph it, it has as many dimensions as variables. Those variables might have nothing to do with time OR space.

aaron695 12y ago

> But the fourth dimension is timespace, is it not? No. Only in science fiction novels. It'd need to be measured in meters to make sense as a real 4th dimension.

TophWells 12y ago

What the fourth dimension is depends entirely on what order you put the dimensions in :)

coldtea 12y ago

No, it's actually not. For one, dimensions aren't numbered. Time is only called "fourth" because we just add it as an extra to the 3 spatial dimensions we perceive intuitively. Not because there's some specific order. There can be an arbitrary number of special dimensions in mathematics (hence hypercubes, etc). And according to some (quite prevalent) physics theories, there are actually more than 3 spatial dimensions in the actual reality -- string theory calculations give 10 spatial dimensions.