1st and 4th dimension

[chrisjeffrey]

before i ask my question i just want to say that i am not well studied in any of these areas and my question might seem stupid, but i was just wondering about it.

i was reading a post on this board about how all things not made by man are 3d. i know that dogs supposedly cannot recognize 2d objects (i dont know if that is a rumor or what), but i was just wondering if the "4th dimension" which i have heard referred to on these boards is a dimension that humans can pick up (or see)or not. also has anyone out there done any research about animals or species being able to pick up a new dimension (similar to dog whistles only of course more complex) like how cats seem to be able to anticipate things.

also im assuming that no first dimension could exist because one of its dimensions would have to be nonexistant (but of course that is 2d and 3d thinking), has anyone given thought to a first dimension or how it would be displayed visually?

if someone could refer me to a web page or a thread on this page that addresses either of these probably stupid sounding questions i would appreciate it.

[blobrana]

it would have to be a mathematical concept...

Hehe, have a look in the physics forum...

And do a quick search on google...i would probably recommend a book called the `4 th dimension` , written in layman terms , and it will give you an insight to the first dimension.

good luck.

[chroot]

The "fourth dimension" is indeed just a mathematical formalism.

Basically physicists refer to an event as a vector with four components: (t, x, y, z). We assign a unique set of numbers to every time and place. For example, your dinner table at 7 pm and your bed at 11 pm are two different events, with different space and time coordinates.

The interesting thing about these four-vectors is that they can be rotated around just like a normal vector with just three spatial components. For example, when you move very quickly, your clock slows down. This can be represented in a vector form, such that the vectors obey a vector transformation algorithm (called the Lorentz transformation) when being expressed in one coordinate system or another.

No one really says "time is the same as space;" when someone says "time is the fourth dimension" they really mean "physicists use a mathematical model that operates upon four-vectors that include space AND time components."

- Warren

[ElectricFetus]

I have run code in 12D! that algorithms needed 12 different vectors... but humans can only perceive 3D our brains cannot visualize anything beyond that: so I have to show my data by taking samples in 2D arrays or 3D matrixes.