Charles Howard Hinton: The Fourth Dimension (1904/1912); A New Era of Thought (1888)
Filed under book | Tags: · geometry, history of science, mathematics, science fiction, theosophy, time
In an 1884 article entitled “What is the Fourth Dimension?”, Hinton suggested that points moving around in three dimensions might be imagined as successive cross-sections of a static four-dimensional arrangement of lines passing through a three-dimensional plane, an idea that anticipated the notion of world lines, and of time as a fourth dimension (although Hinton did not propose this explicitly, and the article was mainly concerned with the possibility of a fourth spatial dimension), in Einstein’s theory of relativity. Hinton later introduced a system of coloured cubes by the study of which, he claimed, it was possible to learn to visualise four-dimensional space (Casting out the Self, 1904). Rumours subsequently arose that these cubes had driven more than one hopeful person insane.
Hinton created several new words to describe elements in the fourth dimension. According to OED, he first used the word tesseract in 1888 in his book “A New Era of Thought”. He also invented the words “kata” (from the Greek “down from”) and “ana” (from the Greek “up toward”) to describe the two opposing fourth-dimensional directions—the 4-D equivalents of left and right, forwards and backwards, and up and down.
Hinton’s Scientific romances, including “What is the Fourth Dimension?” and “A Plane World” were published as a series of nine pamphlets by Swan Sonnenschein & Co. during 1884–1886. In the introduction to “A Plane World”, Hinton referred to Abbott’s recent Flatland as having similar design but different intent. Abbott used the stories as “a setting wherein to place his satire and his lessons. But we wish in the first place to know the physical facts.” Hinton’s world existed on the surface of a sphere rather than a flat plane. He extended the connection to Abbott’s work with “An Episode on Flatland: Or How a Plain Folk Discovered the Third Dimension” (1907).
The Fourth Dimension
Third Edition
Published by London: George Allen & Co, 1912
PDF
Read online (1884 article) (HTML)
A New Era of Thought
Publisher London: Swan Sonneschen & Co, 1888
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Read online (HTML)
Matthew Goulish: 39 Microlectures: In Proximity of Performance (2000)
Filed under book | Tags: · performance, performance art, theatre
39 Microlectures: In Proximity of Performance is a collection of miniature stories, parables, musings and thinkpieces on the nature of reading, writing, art, collaboration, performance, life, death, the universe and everything. It is a unique and moving document for our times, full of curiosity and wonder, thoughtfulness and pain.
Matthew Goulish, founder member of performance group Goat Island, meditates on these and other diverse themes, proving, along the way, that the boundaries between poetry and criticism, and between creativity and theory, are a lot less fixed than they may seem. The book is revelatory, solemn yet at times hilarious, and genuinely written to inspire – or perhaps provoke – creativity and thought.
Publisher Routledge, 2000
ISBN 0415213932, 9780415213936
214 pages
PDF (updated on 2012-9-24)
Comments (2)G. James Daichendt: Artist-Teacher: A Philosophy for Creating and Teaching (2010)
Filed under book | Tags: · 1800s, art education, bauhaus, education
“The philosophy of the artist-teacher is not a new phenomenon. In fact, many artists working within the Bauhaus, nineteenth century Schools of Design, and The Basic Design Movement all applied this method of thinking to their teaching. The Artist-Teacher explores the many facets of this methodology, and the various ways art has been taught over the centuries, using several important artist-teachers (George Wallis, Walter Gropius, Richard Hamilton, Hans Hoffman) to illustrate the rich and deep ways artists are able to facilitate learning.”
Publisher Intellect Books, 2010
ISBN 1841503134, 9781841503134
160 pages
PDF (updated on 2015-12-12)
Comments (5)