String theory and art

Main Question or Discussion Point

I am an art student who has become fascinated by string theory, particularly the fact that it predicts ten or eleven dimensions of space. I am trying to conduct research into how the idea of their being more dimensions of reality than the three dimentions of space and one of time could affect the way we view or experience art.

What are the current ideas and theories about how these extra six or seven dimensions may exist and interact with us and the universe? It is probably quite impossible to visualize these extra dimentions, but has anybody come up with an abstract idea of these extra dimentions and any form with which they may exist in??????

Related General Discussion News on Phys.org
Staff Emeritus
Gold Member
Dearly Missed
The main theories still depend on compacted dimension. Six of the ten (let me just consider the ten dimensions of superstring theory here), are realized as tiny (billions of times smaller than a proton) shapes. In the most general picture, these shapes are twisty bodies called Calabi-Yau manifolds that nobody can visualize. Frequently string physicsists doing calculations will use a simplified space like a 6-dimensional torus. This can't really be visualized either, but if you think of a set of six coordinates, each coordinate being just an angle between 0o and 360o, you can do math, and that's all they need. There are some neat things like orbifolds that are important too, I will try to think of a way to motivate these for you, or maybe somebody else can take a stab at it.

The main theories still depend on compacted dimension. Six of the ten (let me just consider the ten dimensions of superstring theory here), are realized as tiny (billions of times smaller than a proton) shapes. In the most general picture, these shapes are twisty bodies called Calabi-Yau manifolds that nobody can visualize. Frequently string physicsists doing calculations will use a simplified space like a 6-dimensional torus. This can't really be visualized either, but if you think of a set of six coordinates, each coordinate being just an angle between 0o and 360o, you can do math, and that's all they need. There are some neat things like orbifolds that are important too, I will try to think of a way to motivate these for you, or maybe somebody else can take a stab at it.
I had showed you in our conversations of a earlier day, one method that struck me, was on how such direction could have properly exploded from a euclidean perspective. Point line plane.

In this picture I started off with a point and the points merged into many other point and then into a line. This line and underneath this line, lines started to merge in a plane. At this point I didi not know what to do, ye I realized that if I were to identify this point, it would have to expand into thre cordinated reference.

So points merged into line the plane as lines merge into planes and this hapen in a three dimension frame work. So the final picture revealled itself? I wil have to find it amongst my files.

Again here, the ideas of texture are really important in regards to the nature of dynamcal triangulations and topologies, where discrete structures versus smoothness respectively. These would all be important factors to consider in the artfulless of discribing nature at a fundamental level geometrically conisdered.

I will point to further information to help the student if wanted.

Last edited:
[
PHP:
QUOTE=adam101]I am an art student who has become fascinated by string theory, particularly the fact that it predicts ten or eleven dimensions of space. I am trying to conduct research into how the idea of their being more dimensions of reality than the three dimentions of space and one of time could affect the way we view or experience art.

What are the current ideas and theories about how these extra six or seven dimensions may exist and interact with us and the universe? It is probably quite impossible to visualize these extra dimentions, but has anybody come up with an abstract idea of these extra dimentions and any form with which they may exist in??????[/QUOTE]

I am also an artist who is completely taken by string theory. My thoughts on your question is that we need to search in the area of consciousness and it's mechanisme's. Our thoughts and emotions, I believe, have something to do with these extra dimensions. How they come to exist and how they travel onward. Shared (sub-)consciousness? If everything is made of strings, then so are our thoughts...

As an artist I work with thoughtless processes (like automatic writing), different possible trajectory's of the viewer in one work, repeating confrontation's. Creating a turningpoint in their chain of thoughts and thoughtprocesses. Emergent pattern's that help break through thoughtfractals. As a framework I use diagram's. x, y and z as emotional value's. At the moment I am busy creating a project in which the coordinates of locations of my work in a city form points in a graphic that in it's self holds a message. The mechanisme's of experience.

I also have questions: What about open and closed strings? Isn't the connection to binary code creepy? Is the universe a "digital" language? I feel somehow that an aswer might be found in understanding, creating, artificial emotion for artificial intelligence. Emotional logic.

Are our thoughts vibrations, that form frequencies that can influence other thoughtstrings? Do they pass through time and space, influencing the matter they pass through? Is our DNA a code to how we interact with these frequenties? How we follow a path through chaos? How we make our choices? If the space dimensions tell us where, and the time dimension tells us when, then for instance: why is the reason "why" that we are there, not a dimension?

To be here feels like a conceptual artwork in itself, infiltrating, leaving my tracks. I do not believe in coincidence.

I too have postulated hidden string dimensions as being the repositories of intelligence, souls, even heaven

intelligence is transcendent and exists outside of our limited perception......a dimension/entity of pure thought/intelligence. We act as *magnets* attracting whatever we can handle at any moment in time which accumulates according to the individual to become our intellect

quasar987
Homework Helper
Gold Member
RingoKid said:
I too have postulated hidden string dimensions as being the repositories of intelligence, souls, even heaven

intelligence is transcendent and exists outside of our limited perception......a dimension/entity of pure thought/intelligence. We act as *magnets* attracting whatever we can handle at any moment in time which accumulates according to the individual to become our intellect
That is interesting! When I read that I tought "I have heard that somewhere before, where was it?" It's in the book 'The Ethics' from 17th century philosopher Barruch Spinoza. He says there are two dimensions that affect us humans. One is Space, the other is Thoughts. They are distinct yet binded together for they are but two different aspect of one reality: the infinite an eternal Substance. Actually the Substance is defined by that which is self-caused, i.e. Existence itself, or... God, in hope of not being called an atheist. But I'm getting carried away here.. :tongue:

Spinoza's views about the universe were just incredibly ahead of his time. In fact, he seems to have had a major impact on Einstein's beliefs. He once replied to a Rabbi asking him if he believed in God: "I believe in Spinoza's God who reveals Himself in the orderly harmony of what exists, not in a God who concerns himself with fates and actions of human beings." I highly recommand the reading of The Ethics to anyone visiting this forum. I personally was attracted to the book because of its mathematical structure! The ideas are developped in terms of Proposition and Demonstration, using a simple set of preliminary Axioms and Definitions. It's beautiful.

However I personally don't think intelligence needs anything else than Space to exist. Nevertheless, I vividly encourage artsy interpretations of string theories and relativity.