Carl Sagan on the 4th dimension...

[SoCaliSon]

I have been completely fascinated by Cosmology and Astronomy since I was a kid. I used to lay out on my trampoline for hours at night and stargaze for hours. I used to check out Carl Sagan videos and books at the Library for fun, to try to grasp what he was saying. I believe that he was one of the most brilliant minds of our time... If there is anyone in history I could spend a day with and try to pick there brains it would be this guy. Watch this video a few times and see if you can wrap your mind around what he is getting to...pure genius. I would love to hear what some of you think about his theories. And please... I am a huge fan of philosophical discussion... as long as everyone can keep a level head and respect the opinions of our peers whether you agree or not.
~Joe

Carl Sagan, on the 4th dimension.

RIP
Carl Sagan
1934-1996

 

[ChromaChameleons]

i just watched the video.... very thought provoking . Way beyond my comprehension. I totally get the concept of a 4th dimension, but I can't visiualize a 3 dimensional cube extrapolated to a 4th . I'll need a few months and a case of wine to ponder this .....LOL

 

[SoCaliSon]

i just watched the video.... very thought provoking . Way beyond my comprehension. I totally get the concept of a 4th dimension, but I can't visiualize a 3 dimensional cube extrapolated to a 4th . I'll need a few months and a case of wine to ponder this .....LOL

It took me a couple times watching that one to really start to grasp what he was getting at. I start to get a headache when I think about the "Tesseract", and how it would be the 3 dimensional shadow of a cube in the 4th dimension that has lost some integrity in appearance in the translation to the 3rd dimension. And then trying to picture something that would cast a 3 dimensional shadow...Man... ties my brain in knots.

You gotta love this guy though..."I was in some mystic dimension called...Up."

 

[Jeweledchameleons]

"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.
For man has closed himself us, till he sees all things thro' narrow chinks of his cavern
-William Blake (The marriage of heaven and hell) 1793


We are confined by our biological limitations as we are our cultural mindset.
Eventually we may surpass these limitations but only if we choose too.. with bravery.
jc.

 

[Brad]

billions and billions

Carl Sagan was the man. He succeeded in bridging the gap between the theoretical physicist and the average person. He inspired kids to be scientists and through his television series and interviews he opened a window that the average person might not have ever opened for themselves. I loved the cosmos series and especially the book/movie Contact.

I was an astronomy major when I entered college and later changed to computer science. Cosmology was my main interest and I was definitely influenced by Sagan. No person can take Carl's place completely, but one person who is doing a good job is Michio Kaku. You might have already seen or heard him on tv or radio. If you are interested in the subject matter check out his website. A lot has changed since Sagan.
http://www.mkaku.org/

 

[spatulars]

Speaking of theoretical physics, and alternate dimensions...

A documentary on the Large Hadron Collider (3 segments)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBxRCL-J3Hg

I really love this show, it starts to really get interesting around 9 minutes in.

 

[THECHAMMAN]

my father works on the LHC as they call it in geneva. what they are doing sounds amazing, but it is simplicity on the most complex of levels...if that makes sense to you

 

[spatulars]

I agree on its simplicity, but I still find the Higg's mechanism interesting, and the LHC could disprove it. If the LHC doesn't find the Higg's boson, particle physicists will have to take a long look at the standard model. If the LHC does find the Higg's boson, so much can be explained. I can't wait until they finish cooling and testing the LHC, I want to know what happens when they start collisions.