The things you’ll find in higher dimensions
The things you’ll find in higher dimensions
In normal life higher dimensions smack of science fiction, but in mathematics they are nothing out of the ordinary. Intuitively we think of dimensions as ways in which we can move – up and down, left and right, forward and backwards – which leads us to believe we live in a three-dimensional world. Every point in this world is defined by three coordinates. We can’t imagine living in a four-dimensional world because we simply can’t conceive of another direction to move in.
But now imagine you are arranging to meet someone. Not only do you (theoretically) need to give them the three coordinates of the place you are meeting, you also need to tell them the time you are meeting. Thus, time and space together form a four-dimensional space: you need four numbers to specify a point.