HOME | DD

Visualizing Higher Dimensions — Description
I've been trying to comprehend the hypercube. I was thinking about it using time as a fourth dimension with mixed success, but time is difficult to represent visually without breaking the object into frames.

The cube in cube depiction of the hypercube uses size as fourth dimension, as all eight cubes are actually the same size. It's as if th size difference is distance with perspective. This works well when looking at my 3d printed hypercube as it only requires adding one extra dimension, but a two dimensional drawing is missing TWO extra dimensions.

Then i realized that all a dimension is is a gradient between two characteristics, left to right, up to down, closer farther, before to after. Size is also a gradient between big and small. So I started thinking what other gradients can be used to represent spacial dimensions.

Hue. Scientifically hue is just a gradient between long wavelengths and short wavelengths, red to blue. The gradient would actually go through the rainbow but I didn't want to confuse the concept with all those extra hues so I went through magenta which isn't a real color any way.

Armed with two extra dimensions I was able to depict a four dimensional object on a two dimensional surface.

It was still a struggle and I'm sure there could be a more mathematically accurate way to depict this, but I think I proved the concept well enough.

Maybe with study, thought and practice I might even be able to depict five or more dimensions, I just need more visual gradients.
Luminosity and saturation come to mind, maybe hardness, motion, or lines made of numbers?