Fourth Dimension


"Mr Hinton tries to explain the theory of the fourth dimension so that the ordinary reasoning mind can get a grasp of what metaphysical mathematicians mean by it. If he is not altogether successful, it is not from want of clearness on his part, but because the whole theory comes as such an absolute shock to all one's preconceived ideas" - The Bristol Times (quoted within the book). This book was published in 1912. The author is attempting to communicate a very complex interweaving of philosophy and mathematics, and it is often difficult to follow his train of thought. However, it is hard to refute his idea of a four dimensional universe passing through and, in a way, creating our three dimensional one. For sections 1-9, the reader attempted to describe the illustrations in the text, but as the pictures were getting more complex, a separate PDF file of illustrations was created, copied from the pages of the book. It can be downloaded from the catalog page on archive.org or via the link "Extracted illustrations of the book" on the left side below. (Summary by Peter Yeasley) (9 hr 5 min)

Chapters

Preface; Chapter 1 - Four Dimensional Space
Chapter 2 - The Analogy of a Plane World
Chapter 3 - The Significance of a Fourth Dimensional Existence
Chapter 4, part 1 - The First Chapter in the History of Four Space
Chapter 4, part 2 - The First Chapter in the History of Four Space
Chapter 5, part 1 - The Second Chapter in the History of Four Space
Chapter 5, part 2 - The Second Chapter in the History of Four Space
Chapter 5, part 3 - The Second Chapter in the History of Four Space
Chapter 6, part 1 - The Higher World
Chapter 6, part 2 - The Higher World
Chapter 7 - The Evidence for a Fourth Dimension
Chapter 8, part 1 - The Use of Four Dimensions in Thought
Chapter 8, part 2 - The Use of Four Dimensions in Thought
Chapter 8, part 3 - The Use of Four Dimensions in Thought
Chapter 9, part 1 - Application to Kant's Theory of Experience
Chapter 9, part 2 - Application to Kant's Theory of Experience
Chapter 10, part 1 - A Four-Dimensional Figure
Chapter 10, part 2 - A Four-Dimensional Figure
Chapter 11, part 1 - Nomenclature and Analogies ...
Chapter 11, part 2 - Nomenclature and Analogies ...
Chapter 12 - The Simplest Four-Dimensional Solid
Chapter 13, part 1 - Remarks on the Figures
Chapter 13, part 2 - Remarks on the Figures
Chapter 14, part 1 - A Recapitulation and Extension of the Physical Argument
Chapter 14, part 2 - A Recapitulation and Extension of the Physical Argument
Appendix 1, part 1 - The Models
Appendix 1, part 2 - The Models
Appendix 2, part 1 - A Language of Space
Appendix 2, part 2 - A Language of Space