Some Physics/Geometry I Assume In My Designer Speculations

[John21]

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8. If you lived in that universe above, you could create a lesser dimensional universe. Including one where time did have a beginning.

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Or, if you lived in a universe below (three-dimensional), could you create a greater (four-dimensional) universe? One where time really did have a beginning?

At least for me, it's not beyond the realm of reason to think that a four-dimensional civilization a million years ahead of us could create a fifth dimension. And like you alluded to with the three-dimensional being creating a two-dimensional reality, regression to lower dimensions could pose problems. The least of which would be during his transition from four to five dimensional - space-time would end up appearing to him as one dimension, or worse, a singularity.

I figure if space-time unified into one dimension for our friend, he'd still retain a subjective sense of identity, but with a singularity, probably not. It would be like getting to heaven and finding out you were the only one there.

[chezlaw]

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At least for me, it's not beyond the realm of reason to think that a four-dimensional civilization a million years ahead of us could create a fifth dimension.

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don't need to go a milion years ahead. Just write a computer simulation with however many extra dimensions you fancy.

chez

[John21]

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At least for me, it's not beyond the realm of reason to think that a four-dimensional civilization a million years ahead of us could create a fifth dimension.

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don't need to go a milion years ahead. Just write a computer simulation with however many extra dimensions you fancy.

chez

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Sorry, I wasn't clear. I should have said, "creating a fifth dimension, and then entering it."

[chezlaw]

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At least for me, it's not beyond the realm of reason to think that a four-dimensional civilization a million years ahead of us could create a fifth dimension.

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don't need to go a milion years ahead. Just write a computer simulation with however many extra dimensions you fancy.

chez

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Sorry, I wasn't clear. I should have said, "creating a fifth dimension, and then entering it."

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I think we need some serious science fiction. Interesting question.

chez

[Metric]

Neat idea -- I like the concept. It's clear that you're not constrained on the number of spacetime dimensions that you can create/simulate. However, I think that you will always be constrained to a universe with a smaller phase space than the real-world phase space of your computer. In other words, to simulate/create a higher dimensional universe, it requires a huge amount of resources -- depending on how elaborate the world you create, you may run up very quickly against fundamental limitations that are independent of how advanced your technology is.

[DireWolf]

David, check out Poincare Conjecture, It turns out 3d is much harder to prove than Nd

[John21]

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However, I think that you will always be constrained to a universe with a smaller phase space than the real-world phase space of your computer.

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Suppose consciousness is non-local and based on fields of information, consisting of waves, and that it originates in the phase-space. So if our physical brain does interact with this non-local, higher dimensional space and it's fields of probability, couldn't that interaction in a sense be an "observation" resulting in a collapse of the wave function?

What I'm getting at is the idea that objective consciousness is non-local and exists as a wave function, and when our physical brain observes (becomes aware of) this wave, it collapses - producing what we call subjective consciousness.

Or as an analogy: if the 2+2 server is considered as a field of information in phase-space, let's just say all the information exists as probability until I click on a post basically collapsing the wave function. The information I see on my screen doesn't originate with my computer, it's only received by it.

What intrigues me and how it relates to my earlier post, is there could be other ways to produce the collapse of the wave function of my hypothetical non-local consciousness. Our physical brain could be nothing more than a biological device that produces electromagnetic fields and generates some sort of quantum coherence with non-local consciousness. It seems that if our brain is just functioning as a relay station, the development of a device or process that did the same thing would literally create another dimension, though not necessarily physical. Although, "create" another dimension might not be as accurate as "experience" another dimension - namely - consciousness without a brain or body.

[PairTheBoard]

Why "dimensions"? Maybe that in which our existence participates is of such a nature that the mathematical tool of "dimensions" has no application.

PairTheBoard

[thylacine]

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Why "dimensions"? Maybe that in which our existence participates is of such a nature that the mathematical tool of "dimensions" has no application.

PairTheBoard

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QFT

[lastcardcharlie]

I think all your assumptions are true enough apart from 7. There is a difference between a space dimension and a time dimension. In one space dimension (a line) one can move in two directions, forwards or backwards, but in one time dimension one can only move in one direction, so no going back in time. This, anyway, is the structure of 4-dimensional Minkowski spacetime used in relativity.