Ten dimensional space

I’ve been struggling to get my head around multi-dimensional space. Why, you may ask? Because I picked up a rather old book by Michio Kaku called ‘Hyperspace – A scientific odyssey Through the 10th Dimension’. I think one of my daughters was throwing it out. 

I say old even though it is only about twenty five years old, a mere strippling compared to some of the other books I read. This short time frame shows however, the rapid speed at which our understanding of science is changing. Many of the problems discussed in the book have been answered, at least in part, only for yet more questions to be asked.

Anyway, back to dimensions. I’m quite happy with the four we have. Forwards, sideways upwards and time have served me well for the last six decades and will most likely see me out. The book however delves into the complex worlds of physics and mathematics, if they are indeed separate. It argues that to resolve the outstanding questions of how the universe works and provide a theory of everything we need to operate in higher dimensions, perhaps ten.

This is when my brian starts to hurt.

What I have learnt from the book is that just because I can’t see things or can’t comprehend them  it doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Rather I was reminded of this, as I already knew it. There are many things I believe in but can’t see with only the vaguest of  comprehension. If I was to try and understand everything before doing anything then my life would grind to a halt. 

As our understanding grows ever larger then the ability of one person to grasp everything becomes less and less possible and we rely upon others to have the experience and understanding of how the component parts of the world work.

The book has reminded me to be ever vigilant of closing my mind to new ideas and different thinking. However strange, difficult or even abhorrent an idea may seem it doesn’t necessarily make it wrong. Ideas and thinking evolve over time and need a process of challenge to do so.

We all need to work harder to see things that we can’t see, comprehend things we can’t comprehend and challenge ourselves over those things we find challenging.

There are too many closed minds out there. Perhaps mine is one of them.