4-d evolution

[elpenmaster]

would it be possible to evolve into 4-d beings?
maybe if somebody was born being sligthly 4-d, they could have advantages over 3-d people
then by natural selection, an entire species could evolve to be 4-d
maybe we evolved from 1-d and 2-d creatures
is it possible
:?

[RQ]

slightly 4D? :?

[Breserk]

Heh.
Slightly 4D.

The way I see it, there's is no way we would turn 4D because our world is 3D, thus we cannot evolve into a dimension that does not exist here.

[elpenmaster]

string theory and all that says that there are 11 dimensions, but 8 are just really small. so somebody could evolve to be in 4-d space too.

[PWrong]

Actually, string theory says that there are 3 large dimensions, either 6 or seven (in supergravity theory) small curled up dimensions, and time is sometimes called the 10th or 11th dimension. All matter is made up of 1-dimensional strings (like infinitely thin rubber bands) that move through the 9 or 10 dimensions, and vibrate in a different manner depending on the type of particle they are.

We couldn't evolve into these dimensions, simply because we already occupy this space. More importantly, evolution can't really affect anything to do with subatomic physics, because DNA is too big.

However, this made me think about something else to do with string theory.

Part of The Elegant Universe deals with why the universe just happens to have three uncurled dimensions. Brian Greene's theory is that the universe began with 0 dimensions at the big bang, and the others gradually uncurled themselves, allowing the universe to spread out in 1 dimension, then 2, then 3.

This is where it gets confusing. Strings can constrict the dimensions, keeping them curled up. But when strings and antistrings collide and annihilate each other, this alleviates the constriction on the dimensions, allowing them to uncurl again. Unfortunately, (for people like us who want to be like Emily) an infinitely thin string is infinitely unlikely to collide with an antistring in 4D, but not in 3D. So when the 4th dimension tries to uncurl, the strings gain more freedom, can't annihilate each other, and constrict the 4th dimension again.

This is really interesting if you can understand it, and if the theory is correct, I think it provides us with an opportunity, given futuristic technology, to create small sections of 4D space in our own universe. I'll start a new thread on that subject.

[BClaw]

Doesn't superstring theory say that those small dimensions are closed loops as well, while the three *big* dimensions are infinite? Well, what if one or more of those little curled up dimensions were to expand? Or what if we could do something to make one bigger locally? I have this terrible vision of people suddenly collapsing into goo because their molecules started falling out of their bodies into this mysteriously expanded dimension...

[elpenmaster]

i am sort of confused
but on the strings that were infinitly unlikely to collide, how would that be?
couldnt the strings bump into each other in any dimension?
im not quite sure what these strings look like, but i was going under the assumption that they were literally "strings"?
:?

[RQ]

The reason that there are only 3 dimensions in our universe is simply the anthropic principle. If the universe had 4, our Earth would be too unstable, on the other hand as alkaline has mentioned on numerous other topics, it is really impossible to have life with only 2 dimensions.
And even if it were, we are only living in this universe.
4 dimensions can indeed exist, but too bad there probably wouldn't be anyone to observer them.