This is a 2-dimensional projection of E8, a 248-dimensional object seen here simplified into only 8-dimensions to help preserve sanity. Essentially, if I understand it correctly, it’s like a 2-D shadow of a 248-D sphere, an object so symmetrical you could theoretically rotate it in any direction in up to 248 dimensions and it still appear the same. Talk about a stick in the mud. It took 18 mathematicians four years to produce the calculation for this object, its formula weighing in at 60 gigabytes. The computation was announced at MIT by David Vogan this Monday, the 19th of March, 2007.So it took four years for 18 mathematicians to come up with... something that looks like it was made with an old Spirograph set?
I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this one, folks. Here's a page that has a lot more about it though.
2 comments:
Hey, saw your link to my post through Technorati. You live near Greensboro? I went to UNCG for two years, now I live in Charlotte. Nice to make acquaintance w/ someone relatively nearby.
Anyway your TV spots are awesome, and I haven't even watched Forcery yet. Drop me a line anytime, jruckman.com.
Are you familiar with fractals?
Also if one were to add the golden ratio dimensionally it would allow for a limitless possibility of dimensions as long as we or our computers have enough computing power or until the day we create more simple concepts to calculate such a calculation.
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