Supposed that you have a device that could shift an object’s position on the 4th diamension, or had a 4th dimensional friend that can do it casually who could help you do the same, would you survive the process?

Taking it down a notch, would a 2D being survive being manipulated by 3D movement i.e twisting, shifting, fliping, etc?

I would assume so, since in theory all you’re doing is moving where you are in space. It might be a problem if it’s only done partially over time though

  • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
    233·
    2 days ago

    Hate to break it to you. But you are moving through time. Every second.

    Without time, if you weren’t moving through time, nothing could change, and the rate time flows is different for each of us… it’s complicated and I’m far from the best person to explain it, but time is not like a fourth axis that everything gets placed on, even if that’s kinda sorta how we model it.

    • Ekky@sopuli.xyz
      10·
      2 days ago

      Pretty sure OP was talking about a 4th dimension of space, not space-time.

      • Droechai@piefed.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        3·
        1 day ago

        What is the difference between space and space-time in this scenario? Honest question, since you move in time with velocity in space

        • Ekky@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          3·
          1 day ago

          Spatial movement

          Since the 4th dimension of space is just an infinite amount of 3rd dimensions of space stacked infinitely tight and which is tangent to the normal vectors of every other spatial dimension, you could flip or pass through it just fine. All people and objects you know would disappear and you’d be faced with a new and alien world where every physical object and phenomena is off. Unless, of course, if you not only witness translation, but also rotation, in which case you might be able to see parts of your own dimension from a fucked up point of view, aka. being able to see the organs inside people etc…

          Obviously, this assumes that our 4D space is part of a 5D space-time such that at least 1 dimension of time exists, as you’d be frozen in 0-dimensional time otherwise and wouldn’t be able to see anything.

          Time movement

          Contrary, we already live in 4 dimensions of space-time, of which the 4th dimension of space-time is the 1st dimension of time. You move through time constantly by yourself, and if someone where to move you, you wouldn’t know that you’ve moved since you haven’t moved yet or already did from your own perspective.

          You’d need to exist in 2D time to be able to “experience” the entirety of any single string of 1D time, just like you’d need to be a 3D spatial being to see the entirety of a 2D paper/plane. Also, you would obviously not be aware if you were moved beyond your birth or death, as you wouldn’t have a functional spatial body to interpret this.

          Notice

          This assumes that time and space are two separate phenomena that can be mixed in any given proportion, though resent research has proposed a theory that “space” might just an illusion of time, aka. that what we call “dimensions of space-time” or “dimensions” in general is just one big ol’ load of bull.