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On the Fourth Dimension

From Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia
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The Fourth Dimension
by Unknown (Student)

   The fourth dimension is a undefined area in which objects must be located by four coordinates: north/south, east/west, up/down and ana/kata. In this report I attempt to give a brief summary of the fourth dimension by using various analogies between the second and third dimensions.
   There are many different views of the fourth dimension. One of them is that the fourth coordinate (ana/kata) is whatever it needs to be to solve whatever needs solving (i.e. time, etc.). Another one is that the fourth dimension is time/space in the sense that it controls them (space being abstract). A final one is that the fourth dimension is a combination of the above and more. What is explained here is the basic theorem of the fourth dimension using simple analogies.
   In Lineland – a mythical one dimensional world – all that a person would be able to see would be a point, because everything is just a line. In fact, some people would say that you couldn’t even see that – because nothing has height or width. Whereas in Flatland – a mythical two dimensional world – all that one could see would be a line, or again, since nothing has height, nothing.
   If a cube would put one of its faces against a second dimensional plane where a square were living all the square could see was part of another square because the square cannot look up or down. Therefore, if a sphere were passing through flatland and our square was witnessing the event then the square would see a side of a circle getting larger and then shrinking. Likewise, if a hypersphere were to pass through the third dimension, you would see a sphere getting larger and then shrinking. Another aspect of dimensional interaction is reversal. Imagine that you were suddenly transformed into your mirror image by a fourth dimensional being. The being would only have to rotate you ana or kata and you would be reversed. It would be easier to imagine a three dimensional being rotating a two dimensional being into its mirror image.
   Using the directions ana and kata a fourth dimensional being could see the inside of things that we consider enclosed (i.e. the human body) and take those things without first opening the object (i.e. drinking wine out of a bottle without opening it.) One could commit a “perfect crime” in the three dimensional world by using ana and kata to avoid boundaries and take an object – without even opening a safe.
   Some believe that the fourth dimension is made up of planes. A plane is a level of life – for example, [[Wikipedia:Christianity|Christianity]] supports three separate planes: Heaven, Earth, and Hell. Some religions state that there are seven planes, 6 astral and 1 earthly. Other people think that there is an infinite number of planes and still others think that there are no planes whatsoever. So how do planes tie in with the fourth dimension? Well, in example, if the planes of the fourth dimension were leveled off as colors, a creature from one plane could see his own color but would not notice another colored creature, in fact he wouldn’t even feel that other creature. Confusing, isn’t it?
   In conclusion, the fourth dimension is an interesting, fascinating, confusing world.

Source

thesevenminds.wordpress.com