Some Philosophy
Applying Second and Third Dimensional Relationships to the Third and Fourth Dimensions
Rory Landon Aronson
7-12-2011
In trying to understand the fourth dimension, I have thus far come to the following conclusions and will attempt here to explain my reasoning.
All objects (including beings) are four dimensional objects but physically limited in 3 dimensions. Beings are unable to physically experience the fourth dimension, but may experience it through the mind.
In order to illustrate my conclusions, hear the following example. Imagine, a 2 dimensional plane world. Within this world, there exist 2 dimensional beings. These beings can move, see, and experience everything within their plane but nothing that does not intersect it. Now imagine that this plane is the top surface of the water in a swimming pool. At first, you are standing outside of the pool and you share no intersection with the plane world. To the plane beings, you do not exist. If you then walked into the pool and stood with the water at your waist, the intersection of your body and the water would provide a contour (or cross section) in the 2 dimensional world. This contour could be perceived by the 2 dimensional beings as any other 2 dimensional object within their world. Now, let us suppose that you move deeper into the pool such that the waterline is at your neck. During this movement, the cross sectional slice of your body would change size and shape. From the point of view of the 2 dimensional beings, the contour of your waist will shrink to the contour of your neck. Next, suppose you submerge yourself completely under the waterline. Your body will no longer intersect the plane of water and thus there will be no cross section remaining in the 2 dimensional world. From the perspective of the 2 dimensional beings, your contour will have shrunk smaller and smaller until it completely disappeared.
Because the 2 dimensional beings could not see outside of their plane, the appearance, changing, and eventual disappearance of the slice of your body in their world would at first be unexplainable. Perhaps after some time, the 2 dimensional beings would speculate that there was a third dimension. They might hypothesize that this third dimension was physically separate from themselves and their world; and at the same time, realize that this third dimension was only accessible to them through their minds. They might realize that they can rememberyour body, and imagineyour body in future forms.
Now, apply the same relationships that the physically 2 dimensional beings had with your body (a 3 dimensional object), to a physically 3 dimensional being with a 4 dimensional object. We can all physically experience the 3 dimensions that we are physically constrained in: length, width, and height. However, there is a fourth dimension that all objects (including ourselves) exist in. Just as the contour of the 3 dimensional object (your body) appeared, changed, and eventually disappeared from the perspective of the 2 physical dimensional being, 4 dimensional objects appear, change, and disappear from the perspective of 3 physical dimensional beings.
From this, it follows that every object or being that comes into existence, undergoes change, or goes out of existence is a 4 dimensional object. These 4 dimensional things are able to intersect our 3 physical dimensional world; just as how your body intersected the plane world. Thus, we can only physically experience current cross sections (3 dimensions) of the 4 dimensional objects that intersect our world, just as how the plane beings could only physicallyexperience the current cross section (2 dimensions) of the 3 dimensional object that was your body.
Furthermore, just as how the plane beings were able to access the third dimension of objects with their minds, we are able to access the fourth dimension of objects with our minds. Everything around us, all objects and beings, are snapshots (3 dimensional cross sections) of their 4 dimensional true existences. At any one time, we can only physically experience those 3 dimensions. However, we can grasp the fourth dimension of objects through our minds. This is evident by such processes of the mind as memory and imagination.
4 dimensional things (people and objects) appear to change. This is because we can only physically experience the snapshots of such people and objects and once a different cross section of their 4 dimensional true existences intersects our 3 physical dimensional world, we can not physically experience them in the same state ever again. However, we can rememberpast states and imaginefuture or other states. Recall how your body came into existence for the plane world, changed form as it passed through, and then disappeared from plane world existence. Though the cross section of your body will never be the same for the plane beings, they can remember past cross sections, and imagine future cross sections. Just the same, 4 dimensional objects have intersected our 3 physical dimensional world, and afterward, our minds can access past parts of those objects by memory. We can also imagine future states of things. This brings up another aspect of 4 dimensional objects as described below.
We have the ability to remember past states and imagine future states. However, we can only know past states, we can never know future states. And so follows the idea that a 4 dimensional object might never truly goes out of existence. Though such objects might intersect our 3 physical dimensional world for only a short time and never re-intersect again, they might never completely cease to exist. This is because such objects may be in somebody’s memory for all eternity. Also, though we can imagine future states of objects, and even imagine objects altogether, we can never know of those future forms. The future is unknowable whereas the past is knowable and perhaps will never cease to exist.
