Multidimensionality

This is one of the topics that interested me most among those that we talked about over the course of the semester.

And yet, I was not as blown away by it as I could have been. You see, I had already gotten curious about the 4th dimension, and so I had read the Wikipedia article, which actually mentions the book Flatland. Though I couldn't remember its name, as soon as we started watching the video in class, I immediately knew what it was about, and what it was trying to teach us.

My interest was piqued while reading the Well of Echoes series by Ian Irvine. In a handful of instances, some characters have to interact with four-dimensional objects. I should mention that these objects are not at all the focus of the books, and only briefly appear in the last two books as far as I can remember.

In any case, during one of the lecture, I was finally able to conceptualize time as the fourth dimension. Of course, my understanding of this concept is still shaky. In fact, as I am writing this out, and thinking about the concept, I am starting to see more and more holes in my understanding. Initially, I saw in such a way that, as time passes, we move through a series of three-dimensional planes. Yet, now I ask myself: if we were four-dimensional beings, and capable of perceiving the fourth dimension, would we be able to travel through time? Would we be able to insert ourselves into a three-dimensional plane that we have already passed through?

Of course, this brings up the issue of the future: is it predetermined? Are we somehow moving through a predetermined set of motions? Or, does the fourth dimension expand as time progresses? If time travel were indeed possible, then would traveling back to an earlier time alter the direction of time? If time was the fourth dimension, and we were four-dimensional beings, I suppose time would be inconsequential.

At some point, I had another mind-boggling thought. Let's assume, for the sake of this thought, that time is NOT the fourth dimension. Let's also assume that we are, at the very least, four-dimensional beings, but that we are only aware of one single three-dimensional slice of our being at any time. I started thinking that, perhaps, we each have a vast number (infinite?) of three-dimensional selves, each existing in its own separate three-dimensional plane. For all we know, each of these incarnations is conscious, but only of itself. And, in a twisted way, each one believes that it is moving independently from anything or anyone else. Yet, being four-dimensional beings, each self is simply a fragment of a larger movement. We can therefore assume that, were we to insert ourselves into another plane, our other selves' movements would seem completely absurd and strange to us, given the context. Yet, could it be that for each of these universes, these movements make perfect sense for the selves in that particular plane?

In other words, none of the three dimensional planes are central; movements in each plane are not simply the ripples caused by one single plane spilling out into the others. Instead, each of our movements in each plane is part of a large choreography that, when combined, form a four-dimensional movement.

This brings up another possibility: could there be some spillover from other planes? For example, could intrusive thoughts simply be caused by momentary intersection with another plane? Or what about all the little things we do for unfathomable reasons? This view would conflict with the previous model, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Finally, it occurred to me, when we started bringing consciousness into the equation, that perhaps the link between mind and brain exists in another plane, or even in another dimension. In other words, we will never be able to find the connection of mind and brain in our plane, because the two are tethered together in a place outside our perception. And, if we are indeed multidimensional, then how can we possibly come to a full understanding of the brain? It would mean that, at the moment, we are not getting the full story, and that perhaps, the answers lie in other planes of reality, beyond our three-dimensional reach and perception.