The Fourth Dimension

Charles Howard Hinton (1853 - 1907)

"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)

Genre(s): Mathematics

Language: English

Section Chapter Reader Time
Play 01 Preface; Chapter 1 - Four Dimensional Space Peter Yearsley
00:13:15
Play 02 Chapter 2 - The Analogy of a Plane World Peter Yearsley
00:21:06
Play 03 Chapter 3 - The Significance of a Fourth Dimensional Existence Peter Yearsley
00:15:40
Play 04 Chapter 4, part 1 - The First Chapter in the History of Four Space Peter Yearsley
00:21:23
Play 05 Chapter 4, part 2 - The First Chapter in the History of Four Space Peter Yearsley
00:19:00
Play 06 Chapter 5, part 1 - The Second Chapter in the History of Four Space Peter Yearsley
00:11:22
Play 07 Chapter 5, part 2 - The Second Chapter in the History of Four Space Peter Yearsley
00:19:16
Play 08 Chapter 5, part 3 - The Second Chapter in the History of Four Space Peter Yearsley
00:14:56
Play 09 Chapter 6, part 1 - The Higher World Peter Yearsley
00:17:04
Play 10 Chapter 6, part 2 - The Higher World Peter Yearsley
00:16:59
Play 11 Chapter 7 - The Evidence for a Fourth Dimension Peter Yearsley
00:18:16
Play 12 Chapter 8, part 1 - The Use of Four Dimensions in Thought Peter Yearsley
00:14:02
Play 13 Chapter 8, part 2 - The Use of Four Dimensions in Thought Peter Yearsley
00:13:50
Play 14 Chapter 8, part 3 - The Use of Four Dimensions in Thought Peter Yearsley
00:16:34
Play 15 Chapter 9, part 1 - Application to Kant's Theory of Experience Peter Yearsley
00:14:59
Play 16 Chapter 9, part 2 - Application to Kant's Theory of Experience Peter Yearsley
00:17:59
Play 17 Chapter 10, part 1 - A Four-Dimensional Figure Peter Yearsley
00:12:39
Play 18 Chapter 10, part 2 - A Four-Dimensional Figure Peter Yearsley
00:10:32
Play 19 Chapter 11, part 1 - Nomenclature and Analogies ... Peter Yearsley
00:16:34
Play 20 Chapter 11, part 2 - Nomenclature and Analogies ... Peter Yearsley
00:17:41
Play 21 Chapter 12 - The Simplest Four-Dimensional Solid Peter Yearsley
00:35:29
Play 22 Chapter 13, part 1 - Remarks on the Figures Peter Yearsley
00:26:42
Play 23 Chapter 13, part 2 - Remarks on the Figures Peter Yearsley
00:22:15
Play 24 Chapter 14, part 1 - A Recapitulation and Extension of the Physical Argument Peter Yearsley
00:27:15
Play 25 Chapter 14, part 2 - A Recapitulation and Extension of the Physical Argument Peter Yearsley
00:30:45
Play 26 Appendix 1, part 1 - The Models Peter Yearsley
00:12:58
Play 27 Appendix 1, part 2 - The Models Peter Yearsley
00:20:46
Play 28 Appendix 2, part 1 - A Language of Space Peter Yearsley
00:27:05
Play 29 Appendix 2, part 2 - A Language of Space Peter Yearsley
00:18:41