Abstract
THE fourth dimension and non-Euclidean geometry have achieved a prominence quite unprecedented for mathematical topics. In train, bus and tram, over lunch and at the theatre, intelligent man is discussing the fundamentals of his physical consciousness. Mathematicians have sprung a surprise on the man in the street-and on one another, and the former has some reason to complain. He remembers, perhaps with pain, the tyrannical ukases of Euclid, and, if he did not acquire an enthusiastic love for the old Greek, he was at any rate pleased to think that the puzzles of geometry had been settled by something approximating to incontrovertible authority; he was grateful that he need not worry about the doctrine of parallels, or the three angles of a triangle, or about the up and down, to and fro, right and left. Suddenly the man in the street finds himself floundering in a morass of sceptical ignorance.
The Fourth Dimension Simply Explained.
A Collection of Essays selected from those submitted in The Scientific American's Competition. Pp. 251. (London: Methuen & Co., Ltd., 1921.) 7s. 6d. net.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
BRODETSKY, S. The Fourth Dimension Simply Explained . Nature 109, 474–475 (1922). https://doi.org/10.1038/109474b0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/109474b0