WEBVTT - Flat Stanley Across the 11th Dimension

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Stuff from the Science Lab from how stuff

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<v Speaker 1>works dot com. Hey guys, and welcome to the podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Alison I don't like, the science editor at

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff works dot com. And this is Robert Lamb,

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<v Speaker 1>science writer at how stuff works dot com. And you know,

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<v Speaker 1>normally there there are three microphones in the recording uh

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<v Speaker 1>room here, and normally we only occupied to but we

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<v Speaker 1>actually have a third person in the studio with us.

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<v Speaker 1>Also one you'd like to introduce him. Yeah, to my left.

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<v Speaker 1>Sitting to my left is um a special gentleman who

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<v Speaker 1>agreed to join us, and his name is Stanley. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>Flat Stanley. Yeah. Perhaps you all are acquainted with Flat

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<v Speaker 1>Stanley and maybe you've taken him on some travels of yours.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a big sort of movement with Flat Stanley and

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<v Speaker 1>getting him to see the world. Yeah, it's uh, it's

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<v Speaker 1>a like actually a literacy thing. Um. So if you

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<v Speaker 1>have kids or you know their kids somewhere in your family,

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<v Speaker 1>then there's a chance Flat Stanley has paid a visit

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<v Speaker 1>to your home, perhaps in an envelope. Um, Now do

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<v Speaker 1>you remember reading about Flat Stanley as a kid. You

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<v Speaker 1>you said you hadn't read I had not like I

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<v Speaker 1>I had never heard of Flat Stanley until like suddenly

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<v Speaker 1>my mom, who's a kindergarten teacher, started talking about Flat

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<v Speaker 1>Stanley and I'm like oh. And then then um Nis

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<v Speaker 1>and nephew suddenly they have Flat Stanley come into our house,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, to hang out, and uh, apparently it's a

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<v Speaker 1>big deal to deal. Now it's um the brainchild, what's

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<v Speaker 1>based on a book by Jeff Brown. And then this

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<v Speaker 1>guy Dale Hubert started, Uh, he's a Grade three teacher

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<v Speaker 1>in London, Ontario, started this whole take Flat Stanley and

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<v Speaker 1>Adventures with Your Thing, and it's a huge deal. I

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<v Speaker 1>love the books. I remember reading them as a kid,

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<v Speaker 1>and he just some cool things that you know, being

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<v Speaker 1>flat allow him to do. Yeah, Like, for example, I

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<v Speaker 1>think in one of the adventures he has, he is

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<v Speaker 1>able to go down into a sewer grade and pick

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<v Speaker 1>up some shiny ring that somebody dropped. And I think

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<v Speaker 1>he'd do all sorts of other stuff like squeeze between

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<v Speaker 1>doors because of his nice flatness, and probably under window

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<v Speaker 1>jams and stuff like that. But I do remember he

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<v Speaker 1>uh he can go into the sewer grade. I believe

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<v Speaker 1>it was cool. I mean maybe not. He gets a

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<v Speaker 1>little dirty Yeah, but kids should probably shouldn't like send

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<v Speaker 1>him down the sewer or too often on these, but

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<v Speaker 1>you know they are. Yeah, I guess it makes for

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<v Speaker 1>a cool story, that's the thing, because then they write

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<v Speaker 1>about it in their journal. It's like, here's what Flat

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<v Speaker 1>Stanley did today, and then they turn that into their

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<v Speaker 1>their teacher, right right, So today we're gonna take Flat

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<v Speaker 1>Stanley on a journey across the dimensions. Yeah. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>we live in a three D world. He lives in

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<v Speaker 1>a two D world, so you know, yeah, we thought

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<v Speaker 1>we'd use Stanley to illustrate the concepts of the dimensions

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<v Speaker 1>as we know them and some dimensions that string theorists

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<v Speaker 1>propose out there. Okay, well let's uh, let's back it up.

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<v Speaker 1>Then let's get down to the dimensional, very basic one

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<v Speaker 1>dimensional world. So picture of Flat Stanley for a second

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<v Speaker 1>in your head, and in flat Stanley if you if

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<v Speaker 1>you've never seen him before, and you even you're not

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<v Speaker 1>looking him up on a computer right now, he's this

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<v Speaker 1>guy on a sheet of paper and you cut him out.

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<v Speaker 1>He's like a little cartoon guy. Yeah. Yeah, in this

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<v Speaker 1>picture he has a an his tie on with Poka

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<v Speaker 1>dots and a white button down shirt, some slacks. Do

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<v Speaker 1>you like that? I just call them slacks. I feel

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<v Speaker 1>like my mom sings slacks and uh yeah, just a

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<v Speaker 1>regular liking dude, maybe a middle aged maybe thirties. So

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<v Speaker 1>flat Stanley as we have him, is too deep. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so we need get him down to one d we do?

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<v Speaker 1>How are we going to do that? Well, basically, right now,

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<v Speaker 1>he has no depth, all right, He just has length

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<v Speaker 1>in width, So we need to break that down to

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<v Speaker 1>just length. Yeah, all right, so let's just come down

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<v Speaker 1>to a particle. Yeah, basically, would just be one single

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<v Speaker 1>point in the universe that he would live in, would

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<v Speaker 1>be a single line. So the universe is a line,

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<v Speaker 1>and Stanley is a point on point on that line,

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<v Speaker 1>and he's moving. He can only move backward. He can

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<v Speaker 1>move backward and forward. Right, say that this line is

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<v Speaker 1>ten inches long. You only need one number to tell

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<v Speaker 1>me exactly where Stanley is at any given moment. Five

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<v Speaker 1>inches there, Stanley. There's no other number needed. It's pretty boring. Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>It's like if if Stanley were hanging out on that

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<v Speaker 1>line with another particle being you know, he would be like, hey, dude,

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<v Speaker 1>what do you want to meet for lunch? And they're like,

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<v Speaker 1>let's meet at six and that's all you would need

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<v Speaker 1>because there's no there's no other dimension but that. So

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<v Speaker 1>let's take Stanley to his current um, his current shape,

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<v Speaker 1>which is two D. Yeah, it's up to two dimensions

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<v Speaker 1>too D world. You're looking at length and width. Um.

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<v Speaker 1>The the the example I love to use with this

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<v Speaker 1>one battleship because battleship is a game where to to

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<v Speaker 1>pinpoint any position, and therefore you know injure the other

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<v Speaker 1>person's battleships and submarines. Ex second, you sunk my battleship,

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<v Speaker 1>injure them. They're not organic, but that would be kind

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<v Speaker 1>of cool. I guess they have to be like whales

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<v Speaker 1>and stuff. He sunk my whale. It just doesn't have

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<v Speaker 1>the right rank. The whale war guys would be really

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<v Speaker 1>upset about that one. Um. So now in battleship, if

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<v Speaker 1>you want to you want to hit a point, you

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<v Speaker 1>just need those two numbers. So it's like coordinates. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's like E five. So you have you line up E,

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<v Speaker 1>you line up five, and you connect those two lines,

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<v Speaker 1>um and bang, oh yeah you have you have the

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<v Speaker 1>location of that object in a two D world. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>it's kind of like if you you know, it's kind

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<v Speaker 1>kind of like on a city map. You know, it's

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<v Speaker 1>like if you were going to meet somebody for lunch

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<v Speaker 1>and you're like, hey, dude, where you want to meet

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<v Speaker 1>for lunch? They might say at the corner of you know, Firstmont,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, Tree and Piedmont. There you go, Um, which

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<v Speaker 1>Peach Tree? Well that's another issue. Atlanta planning kind of

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<v Speaker 1>messes with our ability to to use a proper metaphor here.

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<v Speaker 1>But but but yeah, it's like the corner of two streets,

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<v Speaker 1>two coordinates. In a two D world, you only need

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<v Speaker 1>two numbers to pinpoint exactly where you are in any

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<v Speaker 1>given time. So that's two dimensions exactly. I think you

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<v Speaker 1>guys are all with us. We're certainly, we're certainly still there.

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<v Speaker 1>So let's take it to three D. Let's move on up. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>three D world, that's where we are now. So you have, um,

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<v Speaker 1>flat Stanley. All of a sudden, maybe we need to

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<v Speaker 1>give flat Stanley a little girth. Maybe he's not flat anymore,

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe he becomes fat Stanley Stanley. I would think your

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<v Speaker 1>rotun Stanley. Yeah. Yeah. For flat Stanley to really be

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<v Speaker 1>a three D being, he would need all three, Tom,

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<v Speaker 1>he needs a little girth, he needs maybe you know,

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<v Speaker 1>some some muscle mass and some protrusions, some appendages. Now, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>now we're dealing with with length, width and depth. In depth,

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<v Speaker 1>you can also uh swap that out for altitude because like,

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<v Speaker 1>let's go back to Battleship. All right, there's a submarine

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<v Speaker 1>and battleship. But in the game, the submarine is always

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<v Speaker 1>on the surface because you only have those two coordinates.

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<v Speaker 1>In reality, of course, the submarine goes to varying depths. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>So there's actually an advanced version of Battleship in which

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<v Speaker 1>the uh, the game platform rises and falls and you

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<v Speaker 1>have to do it like that. Have you ever heard

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<v Speaker 1>of that? No? I didn't know that totally, Like, well, wow,

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<v Speaker 1>you got okay, So yeah, at any rate, to sink

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<v Speaker 1>a real submarine, you would need it's latitude and its

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<v Speaker 1>three coordinates latitude, longitude, and depth depth, so it's like,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, it would be like e five plus uh,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, plus however deep it was in the ocean. Likewise,

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<v Speaker 1>if you're meeting up somebody for lunch and the building

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<v Speaker 1>happens to be ten stories tall, you'd be like, meet

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<v Speaker 1>me at the corner of what was the address, Peachtree

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<v Speaker 1>and Piedmont Um. The restaurant is on the fifth floor, right, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so yeah, at any given point in our world, three

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<v Speaker 1>numbers will tell you where exactly you can be found. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>the three spatial dimensions I'll work nicely for helping you

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<v Speaker 1>find your lunch date, right, definitely. Of course we're talking

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<v Speaker 1>about lunch, right, so we have to set some sort

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<v Speaker 1>of time, right, Yeah, don't show if you show up

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<v Speaker 1>for lunch at three o'clock in the afternoon and you're like, dude,

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<v Speaker 1>where are you and then you say when when we

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<v Speaker 1>were gonna have lunch. We were gonna have ch at noon,

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<v Speaker 1>at lunchtime, and you're late, that's where we end up. Yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>this is your you know. Of course we're not gonna

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<v Speaker 1>line up if you're showing up at different times, and

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<v Speaker 1>that's where we uh where time enters the equation here.

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<v Speaker 1>Sometimes time is referred to as the fourth dimension, but

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<v Speaker 1>physicists who are really dealing with with the idea of

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<v Speaker 1>multiple dimensions, they often refer to it like this. We

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<v Speaker 1>have three spatial dimensions as in space, and one dimension

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<v Speaker 1>of time. So in that you need four numbers to

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<v Speaker 1>successfully pull off a lunch date. You need to know latitude, longitude,

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<v Speaker 1>altitude and when that is taking place, right, Yeah, Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>I think everybody's got that so far. So let's get

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<v Speaker 1>a little crazy. Yeah, so let's talk about the possibility

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<v Speaker 1>of a fourth spatial dimension. And at this point, flat

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<v Speaker 1>Stanley is just's he's he's just blanking out because Stanley's

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<v Speaker 1>taken a nap because you think it's complicated for us

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<v Speaker 1>to talk about four dimension. I mean, this dude's only two.

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<v Speaker 1>So well, okay, so let's let's take him. Let's take

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<v Speaker 1>him with us for the right. Right, So we've given

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<v Speaker 1>him girth in our three D world. Now he knows

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<v Speaker 1>what time is, so he's not gonna be late for

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<v Speaker 1>a lunch date. Now let's take him into our fourth

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<v Speaker 1>spatial dimension and let's talk about how that originated. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>So yeah, now again, this is something our brains can't

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<v Speaker 1>really perceive. There's some good analogies. Yeah, we can draw

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<v Speaker 1>on an analogies and we can discuss why we think

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<v Speaker 1>about it. But don't feel bad if you cannot picture

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<v Speaker 1>the fourth dimension, because that's your brain. You know. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen nineteen, you had a mathematician by the name of

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<v Speaker 1>Theodore Caluza, and he, uh, maybe I maybe maybe putting

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<v Speaker 1>more fun into that lass name than there actually is.

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<v Speaker 1>But anyway, he theorized that a fourth spatial dimension might

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<v Speaker 1>link general relativity and electromagnetic theory. Okay, that didn't actually

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<v Speaker 1>work out, but still he gave it us a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of thought. Um, where would that fourth spatial dimension go? Right?

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<v Speaker 1>Theoretical physicist Oscar Klein, he worked on the theory a

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<v Speaker 1>little more and he little revision, did a little tinkering. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and he proposed that the fourth spatial dimension was merely

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<v Speaker 1>curled up while the other three spatial dimensions are extended. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>and at this point let me interrupt. Um, I was

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<v Speaker 1>watching The Elegant Universe recently, just get a little backing,

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<v Speaker 1>and it is really an awesome program that Brian Green

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<v Speaker 1>does from Columbia University and explains really some good stuff

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<v Speaker 1>on string theory and dimensions. And he was suggesting that

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<v Speaker 1>there's really a helpful way to think about dimensions. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>And we think about kind of unfurled or stretched out

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<v Speaker 1>dimensions and these are your length and your height and

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<v Speaker 1>your altitude and then tiny like tape measure type dimensions

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<v Speaker 1>curled up right, So there's furled and unfurled. Yeah. I

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<v Speaker 1>kind of like to think of you ever seen like

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<v Speaker 1>a cartoon where they have like that little like they

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<v Speaker 1>take a what looks like a black hole, it's like

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<v Speaker 1>a two D thing and they like slap it on

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<v Speaker 1>the wall and suddenly they can reach inside. Or or

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<v Speaker 1>like indungeons and dragons, you could get like a um,

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<v Speaker 1>a little pouch that had limitless capacity, Like you could

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<v Speaker 1>reach your whole arm into this tiny little pouch. It's

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<v Speaker 1>like the idea that the space is there, but it's

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<v Speaker 1>like folded. It's it's like, yeah, tape demension, tape dispenser dimensions. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>So we're talking about this fourth spatial dimension as being

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<v Speaker 1>um curled up and located at every point in space. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so it's like every point in space has like this

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<v Speaker 1>extra layer that's just completely folded up inside it. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>let's give a visual to this. Let's think about like

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<v Speaker 1>a telephone polar or a cable that's across the street

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<v Speaker 1>and you're looking at it kind of far away, so

0:11:39.440 --> 0:11:42.679
<v Speaker 1>really to you, you can only perceive it's um it's

0:11:42.800 --> 0:11:46.520
<v Speaker 1>length rising up into the sky. But then you you

0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:48.600
<v Speaker 1>you walk a little closer. You're curious about this cable,

0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:52.360
<v Speaker 1>and you you can see you can perceive it's um

0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:54.280
<v Speaker 1>its dimensions because all of a sudden you can tell

0:11:54.320 --> 0:11:58.240
<v Speaker 1>it's circular. So you can kind of move flat Stanley

0:11:58.280 --> 0:12:00.760
<v Speaker 1>along the cable if you so desire, or you can

0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:04.760
<v Speaker 1>move flat Stanley now around the cable. So if you

0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:08.839
<v Speaker 1>carry that image with you to the fourth dimension, think

0:12:08.840 --> 0:12:11.320
<v Speaker 1>about that point in space and then every point in

0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:16.320
<v Speaker 1>space as having a circular to mention that you can traverse. Yeah,

0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:18.880
<v Speaker 1>it's um like to go back to the building. Like

0:12:18.920 --> 0:12:21.000
<v Speaker 1>one way I was thinking about this. All right, we're

0:12:21.040 --> 0:12:24.400
<v Speaker 1>meeting our lunch date, right, and it's we need the longitude,

0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:26.320
<v Speaker 1>we need the latitude, and then we need to need

0:12:26.360 --> 0:12:28.920
<v Speaker 1>to know what floor it's on. Okay, just dealing with

0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:32.040
<v Speaker 1>spatial here, don't worry about time. Now. Imagine you get

0:12:32.080 --> 0:12:34.600
<v Speaker 1>to that the third floor of that building for that

0:12:34.920 --> 0:12:37.040
<v Speaker 1>that for the lunch date, and then you look around

0:12:37.040 --> 0:12:40.080
<v Speaker 1>and you're like, whoa, there are multiple businesses on this level.

0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:43.320
<v Speaker 1>Which which door do I go to? Right, It's like

0:12:43.360 --> 0:12:46.480
<v Speaker 1>the closer you get, there's there's something. There's another level

0:12:46.480 --> 0:12:50.840
<v Speaker 1>of complexity, right, and and and so the fourth dimension

0:12:51.000 --> 0:12:53.319
<v Speaker 1>is Yeah, it's rolled up inside this other one. It's

0:12:53.320 --> 0:12:56.000
<v Speaker 1>a it's another place that something could hide away in,

0:12:56.400 --> 0:12:59.360
<v Speaker 1>right right, right, Yeah, I mean that's the that's the

0:12:59.400 --> 0:13:02.840
<v Speaker 1>thing about science and physics, and particularly string theory, is

0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:05.200
<v Speaker 1>that the deeper you look, the more complexity is going

0:13:05.280 --> 0:13:09.280
<v Speaker 1>to arise. It's just kind of mind boggling. It is.

0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:11.199
<v Speaker 1>It is very mind boggling. So again, don't feel bad

0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:13.720
<v Speaker 1>if you're your head spinning a little bit here. Okay,

0:13:13.720 --> 0:13:16.400
<v Speaker 1>So but let's take it down to that point in space.

0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:18.720
<v Speaker 1>And now we have the little circle at that point.

0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:21.920
<v Speaker 1>So that's our fourth curled up spatial dimension. Well, now

0:13:21.920 --> 0:13:23.440
<v Speaker 1>we're going to make that little circle and we're gonna

0:13:23.480 --> 0:13:25.880
<v Speaker 1>make it a little crazier shape. We're gonna form it

0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:31.160
<v Speaker 1>into a a six dimensional shape called a collaby Yo shape. Yeah.

0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:34.280
<v Speaker 1>And this is, uh, this is a crazy looking it

0:13:34.320 --> 0:13:38.080
<v Speaker 1>really is. It's um it kind of looks like like

0:13:38.120 --> 0:13:40.880
<v Speaker 1>some sort of like a Nautilus shell or something and

0:13:40.960 --> 0:13:44.560
<v Speaker 1>kind of like um an esser painting. You know, it's

0:13:44.559 --> 0:13:46.680
<v Speaker 1>like all sorts of curving. Yeah. You also use the

0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:49.800
<v Speaker 1>analogy of a star check holiday ornament in your artist Yeah,

0:13:50.920 --> 0:13:53.960
<v Speaker 1>very space age and and awesome and so yeah, imagine

0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:56.559
<v Speaker 1>that like each if you can sort of menage that

0:13:56.640 --> 0:14:00.920
<v Speaker 1>each point in space has it up inside it a

0:14:01.160 --> 0:14:04.679
<v Speaker 1>six dimensional object, then then you can begin to see it.

0:14:04.760 --> 0:14:06.439
<v Speaker 1>So it's kind of like you get to you get

0:14:06.440 --> 0:14:08.720
<v Speaker 1>to that level of the building where you're hoping to

0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:12.120
<v Speaker 1>find a restaurant and you find like eight restaurants, you

0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:14.839
<v Speaker 1>know that that kind of thing. Yeah, and we should

0:14:14.880 --> 0:14:18.640
<v Speaker 1>mention that this need for all the dimensions was somewhat

0:14:18.920 --> 0:14:21.120
<v Speaker 1>born out of string theory and called for out of

0:14:21.120 --> 0:14:23.840
<v Speaker 1>string theory, although Khalitza and Climber really before string theory

0:14:23.920 --> 0:14:27.040
<v Speaker 1>got its groove on, you know, back in the in

0:14:27.120 --> 0:14:29.720
<v Speaker 1>the second half of the twentieth century. Um, they were

0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:32.040
<v Speaker 1>the ones who really called for all those extra dimensions

0:14:32.040 --> 0:14:35.040
<v Speaker 1>and really needed them. They weren't just saying, hey, how

0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:38.440
<v Speaker 1>many dimensions could we possibly come up with? Six? Sound good? Guys? Now,

0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:42.680
<v Speaker 1>they needed a universe with this many dimensions for the

0:14:42.720 --> 0:14:46.360
<v Speaker 1>math to to work. Yeah, essentially, And then if you

0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:48.120
<v Speaker 1>if you go on to ten dimensions, well why not

0:14:48.160 --> 0:14:51.200
<v Speaker 1>eleven dimensions because surely you've heard that, well, hey, it's

0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:53.840
<v Speaker 1>not ten dimensions to eleven dimension guys. You know, Robert

0:14:53.880 --> 0:14:56.280
<v Speaker 1>Nowlison what are you thinking, Well, sure, yes, there is

0:14:56.320 --> 0:15:00.560
<v Speaker 1>in fact theory M theory and that say, yeah, that's

0:15:00.560 --> 0:15:02.920
<v Speaker 1>eleven dimensions, and that what the M stands for mother

0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:05.560
<v Speaker 1>or sometimes or the M stands for all sorts of stuff.

0:15:06.000 --> 0:15:08.000
<v Speaker 1>You can take it from mother or you. You can

0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:10.040
<v Speaker 1>also take it from membrane. And if we if we

0:15:10.080 --> 0:15:14.480
<v Speaker 1>go with membrane, then what that's referring to is at

0:15:14.480 --> 0:15:17.440
<v Speaker 1>the heart of string theory are of course strings and

0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:21.040
<v Speaker 1>strings being these tiny one dimensional strings. Like if you

0:15:21.040 --> 0:15:23.440
<v Speaker 1>think about an atom as being kind of the smallest

0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:26.920
<v Speaker 1>thing you can imagine a string um if an atom

0:15:27.000 --> 0:15:29.840
<v Speaker 1>is the size of solar system, to borrow an analogy

0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:32.840
<v Speaker 1>from elegant Universe, a string would be as large as

0:15:32.880 --> 0:15:37.080
<v Speaker 1>a tree. Right. So, these very very tiny vibrating strings

0:15:37.120 --> 0:15:39.560
<v Speaker 1>that are at the core of everything, of all matter,

0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:43.440
<v Speaker 1>and they vibrate, and these one dimensional strings, their vibration

0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:46.560
<v Speaker 1>are what gives matter it's unique properties, it's charged, it's

0:15:47.560 --> 0:15:50.600
<v Speaker 1>it's being basically build their entire model the universe, or

0:15:50.720 --> 0:15:52.840
<v Speaker 1>or continuing to try and build an entire model the

0:15:52.920 --> 0:15:56.920
<v Speaker 1>universe that that flows out of this idea of tiny, tiny, tiny,

0:15:56.960 --> 0:15:59.880
<v Speaker 1>tiny strings. Right, So the problem of string theory is that.

0:16:00.480 --> 0:16:03.800
<v Speaker 1>Of course it's crazy complicated, but their rival string theories

0:16:03.800 --> 0:16:06.400
<v Speaker 1>going on. There are as many as five string theories,

0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:09.560
<v Speaker 1>one of which proposed twenty six different dimensions. Oh no,

0:16:09.640 --> 0:16:11.400
<v Speaker 1>that's just ridiculous. I mean, so if you think we're

0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:13.760
<v Speaker 1>getting crazy talking about ten or eleven dimensions, just put

0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:17.320
<v Speaker 1>out their twenty six dimensions. They're so high maintenance. What's

0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:22.320
<v Speaker 1>it like to date one of these guys. So the

0:16:22.400 --> 0:16:26.520
<v Speaker 1>idea of M theory was to unite all these rival

0:16:27.160 --> 0:16:31.160
<v Speaker 1>string theories under under M theory and the eleventh dimension.

0:16:32.000 --> 0:16:33.680
<v Speaker 1>So it's kind of crazy. We we can do a

0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:35.920
<v Speaker 1>separate podcast on the eleventh dimention if you guys are

0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:38.720
<v Speaker 1>so interested, although of course it may require a little

0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:41.000
<v Speaker 1>prep on our part. Yeah, I can't even imagine the

0:16:41.000 --> 0:16:43.600
<v Speaker 1>Stanley we'd have to bring in for that, Like they'll

0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:47.240
<v Speaker 1>they're just worth pointing out that F theory is looking

0:16:47.400 --> 0:16:51.600
<v Speaker 1>which stands for either father or flat Stanley. No, just

0:16:51.600 --> 0:16:55.120
<v Speaker 1>just stands for father, like F theories another string theory

0:16:55.400 --> 0:16:58.520
<v Speaker 1>spinoff that's like involving twelve, And they're thinking there would

0:16:58.520 --> 0:17:01.520
<v Speaker 1>be more like you know, when what on what stopped? Right?

0:17:01.600 --> 0:17:04.360
<v Speaker 1>So the more research you do in two dimensions, the more.

0:17:04.480 --> 0:17:07.240
<v Speaker 1>It does kind of seem as though, when will the

0:17:07.640 --> 0:17:10.119
<v Speaker 1>number of dimensions stop? I mean, eleven seems like a

0:17:10.200 --> 0:17:13.160
<v Speaker 1>good number. But here again we have um F theory.

0:17:13.200 --> 0:17:17.160
<v Speaker 1>I mean, who knows how it's ultimately however, many dimensions

0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:20.480
<v Speaker 1>they need to make the theory work, right, So there

0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:23.080
<v Speaker 1>you have it. We have your three spatial dimensions that

0:17:23.200 --> 0:17:26.439
<v Speaker 1>you guys know and love, right, plus the six spatial

0:17:26.480 --> 0:17:29.400
<v Speaker 1>dimensions that are all curled up in those crazy collabio

0:17:29.880 --> 0:17:33.119
<v Speaker 1>shapes that are at every point in space plus time.

0:17:33.280 --> 0:17:37.080
<v Speaker 1>So we bring to you ten dimensions. Yeah, there you go,

0:17:37.280 --> 0:17:39.639
<v Speaker 1>Flat Stanley, did you enjoy yourself? Oh? Man, he looks

0:17:39.640 --> 0:17:41.560
<v Speaker 1>glazed over. I think he has kind of like a

0:17:41.600 --> 0:17:43.960
<v Speaker 1>little half smile, and his arms are outstretched. It seems

0:17:43.960 --> 0:17:47.280
<v Speaker 1>like he wants to hug us after that that podcast.

0:17:47.440 --> 0:17:50.840
<v Speaker 1>Um dimensions. Sometimes, yeah, sometimes string theory makes you feel

0:17:50.840 --> 0:17:53.520
<v Speaker 1>like you need a hug for sure. So do you

0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:59.520
<v Speaker 1>have any listener mail? I do have a cool listener

0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:03.080
<v Speaker 1>mail I just out today. Um this comes from Daniel

0:18:03.760 --> 0:18:07.720
<v Speaker 1>and he writes, Hello Allison and Robert. Uh this is

0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:12.000
<v Speaker 1>an ancient Zen story. Allow me to help you and

0:18:12.080 --> 0:18:14.320
<v Speaker 1>you will surely drown. Set the monkey for the fish

0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:19.160
<v Speaker 1>placing it safely up a tree. So, and then he asked,

0:18:19.240 --> 0:18:21.800
<v Speaker 1>is it is it altruism if you try to help

0:18:21.800 --> 0:18:24.199
<v Speaker 1>a fish without understanding the nature of the fish and

0:18:24.280 --> 0:18:27.200
<v Speaker 1>end up killing the fish instead, Because in the story,

0:18:27.480 --> 0:18:29.280
<v Speaker 1>the monkey's like, whoa, that fish is gonna drowning and

0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:31.879
<v Speaker 1>put in a tree and now it'll be fine. Anyway,

0:18:31.880 --> 0:18:34.480
<v Speaker 1>he says something to ponder Daniel. Right, So Daniel, of

0:18:34.480 --> 0:18:37.560
<v Speaker 1>course is referencing our podcast on altruism in the Animal

0:18:37.640 --> 0:18:42.440
<v Speaker 1>Kingdom and altruism in bacteria and that whole discovery. Yeah, yeah,

0:18:42.800 --> 0:18:44.960
<v Speaker 1>and I think that's right. Yeah, it's it's it's worth

0:18:44.960 --> 0:18:47.880
<v Speaker 1>thinking about. Yeah, altruism, it gets kind of like where

0:18:47.880 --> 0:18:52.320
<v Speaker 1>you're coming from, you know, it's like and oftentimes, you know,

0:18:52.400 --> 0:18:57.600
<v Speaker 1>the best intentions sometimes wind up with horrible consequences. What

0:18:57.720 --> 0:19:00.080
<v Speaker 1>a bright note to end on? Ye, Well that that

0:19:00.200 --> 0:19:02.680
<v Speaker 1>wasn't really Daniel's intention. It was more just like sort

0:19:02.680 --> 0:19:06.439
<v Speaker 1>of zen, you know, contemplation and not uh wow. We

0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:10.400
<v Speaker 1>do sure do mess up things up sometimes as a species.

0:19:10.760 --> 0:19:12.560
<v Speaker 1>So if you guys want to share his own story

0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:15.120
<v Speaker 1>with us, or your thoughts on altruism or of course

0:19:15.160 --> 0:19:17.080
<v Speaker 1>the dimensions that we covered today, do you send us

0:19:17.119 --> 0:19:18.760
<v Speaker 1>an email. We love to hear from you or or

0:19:18.800 --> 0:19:21.880
<v Speaker 1>stuff about Flat Stanley. I'm always especially flat stan flat

0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:23.840
<v Speaker 1>Stanley pictures. I would love to see some Flat stan

0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:26.359
<v Speaker 1>especially if it all relates to science, that would be

0:19:26.359 --> 0:19:28.159
<v Speaker 1>pretty rad, or or if it relates to one of

0:19:28.200 --> 0:19:30.040
<v Speaker 1>our topics I would love to see. I wonder if

0:19:30.040 --> 0:19:32.760
<v Speaker 1>somebody's taken the taking Flat Stanley to the LHC. I

0:19:32.800 --> 0:19:36.560
<v Speaker 1>bet he's been there probably, so it would be pretty

0:19:36.560 --> 0:19:38.760
<v Speaker 1>easy for him to infiltrate just about anywhere. You know,

0:19:38.840 --> 0:19:41.440
<v Speaker 1>you could just mail into places that actual flesh and

0:19:41.440 --> 0:19:44.800
<v Speaker 1>blood humans could never get to. Right, he has amazing access.

0:19:44.800 --> 0:19:47.520
<v Speaker 1>Flat Stanley is a spy, as a superspy, like you

0:19:47.520 --> 0:19:49.919
<v Speaker 1>can get him the heads of state of celebrities. You

0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:54.199
<v Speaker 1>know this goot. This guy has has ends. Yeah, So,

0:19:54.280 --> 0:19:56.000
<v Speaker 1>like we said, if you want to share Flat Stanley's

0:19:56.000 --> 0:19:58.439
<v Speaker 1>adventures or talk about science in general, send us an

0:19:58.480 --> 0:20:01.359
<v Speaker 1>email Science Stuff at how st first dot com or

0:20:01.720 --> 0:20:04.680
<v Speaker 1>check out Facebook. Yeah yeah, we're on Facebook as stuff

0:20:04.720 --> 0:20:06.280
<v Speaker 1>in the Science Lab, and you can find us on

0:20:06.320 --> 0:20:10.040
<v Speaker 1>Twitter where we aren't Lab stuff, and we try and

0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:13.560
<v Speaker 1>keep that updated pretty regularly with all sorts of cool stuff.

0:20:13.760 --> 0:20:23.240
<v Speaker 1>All right, guys, thanks for listening. For more on this

0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:25.920
<v Speaker 1>and thousands of other topics, is it how stuff works

0:20:25.960 --> 0:20:29.359
<v Speaker 1>dot Com. Want more how stuff works, check out our

0:20:29.400 --> 0:20:31.800
<v Speaker 1>blogs on the house stuff works dot com home page