Re: Dimensions
Kennita Watson (kwatson@netcom.com)
Wed, 14 Jan 1998 08:07:01 +0000
Anders Sandberg wrote:
> CALYK <CALYK@aol.com> writes:
> > In a message dated 98-01-14 01:46:49 EST, you write:
> > << danny:
> > > Im wondering, do the 10 dimensions include the 0 dimension, making 11
> > >total? (0-point, 1-line, 2-plane, 3-d etc..)
> > What???! >>
> > what dont you understand?
> > isnt it agreed that 0-point, 1-line, 2-plane, 3-d etc.. ?
>
> Each (metric) space has a certain dimensionality, an intrinsic
> property of how it hangs together. Simply speaking the number of
> dimensions of a space is the number of coordinates you need to
> uniquely determine the position of a point. On a line you just need
> one, in a plane you need two, in 3D you need three and in higher
> dimensional spaces you need more.
It took me a little while to decipher this, so for our studio audience,
the answer to danny's original question is "no", because you need no
coordinates at all to determine the position of a point in a point, so
if you're counting coordinates or writing equations, the 0-dimension
never shows up.
Sigh, that doesn't sound clear enough either. I probably got an intuitive
grasp of it from reading "Flatland", but not enough to explain it to
laymen. Oh well.
Kennita