3D 'perception' of the world we live in

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    3d Perception
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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the nature of three-dimensional perception and how individuals ascertain the reality of living in a 3D world. Participants explore philosophical implications, empirical experiences, and the potential for advanced imagery to create illusions of dimensionality.

Discussion Character

  • Philosophical inquiry
  • Exploratory reasoning
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant questions how we can be sure we live in a 3D world beyond personal experience, suggesting that advanced art or imagery could create a convincing illusion of three dimensions.
  • Another participant proposes a practical validation of 3D reality by navigating a familiar space, implying that physical interaction confirms dimensionality.
  • A third participant notes that the question leans more towards philosophy than physics, emphasizing that knowledge is based on empirical experience and referencing historical philosophers like Hume and Aristotle.
  • One reply discusses the concept of perspective and how a person with one eye might struggle to differentiate between a 2D representation and reality, suggesting holography as a better example of dimensional perception.
  • Another participant argues that the ability to move in three dimensions is evidence of living in a 3D universe, stating that one cannot be tricked into believing in a 3D world if it were not true.
  • A later reply suggests that perception of 3D may depend on movement, indicating that a still observation could be interpreted as 2D until motion occurs, highlighting the role of frame of reference.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of views, with no consensus reached on the nature of 3D perception. Some focus on empirical validation, while others emphasize philosophical considerations, leading to multiple competing perspectives.

Contextual Notes

Participants acknowledge the limitations of perception and the influence of movement on the interpretation of dimensionality. The discussion does not resolve the philosophical implications or the nature of reality as experienced.

keithcp
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Hello
I am not an expert in physics and only have minimal exposure.
However, I have been struck by something recently that I wanted t bring up with experts in the field.

I was discussing with a colleague the other day, the ability to imagine 3 dimensions. My colleague stated that most people are unable to do this.

This brought me to my curious thought. I'll try to explain using a real world example;
If I am standing in a room, how do I know that the room in which I view real objects is truly 3 dimensional? Of course, based on my presence in the room many times before allows me to know that there are truly 3 dimensions based on my past experience being in the room and touching objects.

Lets say there was an incredible artist or some form of extremely advanced computer animation that could depict a 3 dimensional view, leading one to believe that they were seeing 3 dimensions when in fact there would only be 2 dimensions presented through this art or advanced imagery.
I'm sure I sound crazy but my point is this;

How do we know that we actually live in a 3D world aside from experiencing what we believe to be 3 dimensions based on past experience.

Whats to say that everything we actually see is in fact only 2 dimensions and we are somehow "tricked" into believing it is 3D.

Feel free to provide any insight.

Thanks for reading
 
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keithcp said:
How do we know that we actually live in a 3D world aside from experiencing what we believe to be 3 dimensions based on past experience.

Close you eyes a walk through your house.
You will quickly self validate that 3-d is a reality(after you run into a wall or trip over something)
 
This is more of a philosophical question rather than a physics one. Physics, as well as other physical sciences, are primarily based on empiricism. We can only know what we experience, etc...

It's a rather fascinating subject that has been discussed for hundreds of years. If you're interested you might want to pick up some books by Hume, Mach, or Locke. Heck, even Aristotle was a bit of an empiricist.
 
keithcp said:
Lets say there was an incredible artist or some form of extremely advanced computer animation that could depict a 3 dimensional view, leading one to believe that they were seeing 3 dimensions when in fact there would only be 2 dimensions presented through this art or advanced imagery.

You are pretty much describing a perspective scene, and someone with only one eye wouldn't necessarily be able to tell the difference between that and reality. A better example would be a holograph, wherein the parallax of the original scene is reproduced via a 2-D object.
 
Take your hand and move it out from your body and back in. Thats 1 dimension. Now take it and move it from side to side. Thats number 2. Now take it and move it up and down. Thats 3 dimensions. If we didnt live in a 3d universe, we couldn't do that. In a 2d world, you couldn't even "trick" someone into believing the world is 3d. Just like you cannot trick someone into believing they are living in a 4d world. If you take away vision and the tricks it can play, then its very very obvious we live in a 3d world. I saw a video on youtube that explained this really well, but i can't remember the name of it. =(
 
i think what they mean is less literal than that -
i think they mean the image of everything that is around us ...
i mean for example if you stay completely still and look at your room it COULD be seen as 2d
it is only when you move around or something else moves that you can conclude it is 3d
it's all about frame of reference and perception

thats what i think anyway :p
 

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