Comments on: Carl Sagan Explains the Fourth Dimension

By: konasha

konasha — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 03:04:18 +0000

@hadippa

“Flatland” is just a concept so that you understand, who care’s if it can exsist. And what if theres 4-d beings looking at us saying that we can’t exsist with out their fourth demention.

By: Hadippa

Hadippa — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 07:22:13 +0000

There’s one logical flaw, though. Nothing can exist in flatland, because even a pixel point existing above ground would involve the third dimension immediately. So no square, no triangle, no circle, etc. can exist there. Therefore the lecture has to stop here itself! Sorry Carl.

Secondly, even if the square were to exist, all he would be able to see would be the pixel points adjacent to his eyes. He would not even be aware of his own shape/boundaries, because he cannot have a ‘bird’s eye view’!

By: andy

andy — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:09:00 +0000

Does anyone else think this guy sounds like Agent Smith?

By: n2y2

n2y2 — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:33:00 +0000

I have read Carl Sagan and read about him a lot, but this is the first time I have watched him. Now that I have seen and heard Sagan’s distinctive speaking style, I wonder if Neo’s nemesis (from The Matrix) should have been named Agent Sagan.

I am pretty sure that Hugo Weaving drew some inspiration from Carl Sagan.

By: PartiallyDeflected

PartiallyDeflected — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 05:51:00 +0000

I’m a huge fan of Flatland. It’s really dry at the beginning because the writer takes pains to explain all the details before getting on with the story. But he lock up everything airtight, so there are no “but what abouts”.

By: That Guy

That Guy — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:18:00 +0000

@Tim C

You are not alone. I too saw the original broadcast and never forgot the apple thing. Every time I read or talk about dimensions this apple is right there in my mind’s eye. Go figure.

By: Philly

Philly — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:57:00 +0000

does anyone else out there remember AK Dewdney’s The Planiverse? it was a follow up to Flatland – a fabulous description of a 2-dimensional world as described by one of it’s inhabitants to humans who “discovered” the world by accident during a computer simulation exercise.

I thought of it for the 1st time in 25 years yesterday, and here’s Sagan to remind me again!

By: Tim C

Tim C — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:13:00 +0000

I remember this from the original broadcast. Not that this brings back a memory, but I have actively remembered this thought experiment for well over two decades now. I don’t know why it stuck in there so well.