Time as a Fourth-Dimensional Artist

Dimensions can be viewed as both enablers and limiters in our perception of reality. Each dimension offers a framework through which we experience and understand the world, but in doing so, it also imposes boundaries that shape our interpretation of what we perceive.

For example, we live in a 3D world where depth, height, and width define the objects around us. Our perception of three dimensions gives us the ability to navigate, understand, and interact with the physical universe. However, when we translate a 3D object into a 2D representation, such as in drawing, painting or even graphics on a computer screen, we strip away one dimension—usually depth—leaving only height and width. Any representation which appears 3D is an illusion happening in the 2-dimensional plane. Creating in the 2-dimensional plane forces us to interpret that object differently, flattening the experience but also giving us new ways of representing ideas.

In 2D media like cartoons or comic books, the absence of depth paradoxically allows us to stretch the boundaries of reality. Characters can defy physics, proportions can shift, and the impossible becomes possible because the dimensional limitation invites new creative liberties. The reduced complexity offers a more symbolic, abstract perspective. In many ways, the limitation of a lower dimension gives space for higher imaginative freedom.

Through these dimensional translations, we also discover that each dimension contains within it the seeds of others. For example, a shadow is a 2D projection of a 3D object. Similarly, by working within the constraints of lower dimensions, we can perceive aspects of higher dimensions—though indirectly or through symbolic means. This interaction between dimensions highlights the complex interplay between freedom and limitation, where restricting one aspect of perception opens new possibilities for seeing the world differently.

In this sense, dimensions act as both filters and lenses. By constraining our viewpoint, they simultaneously offer new perspectives that we wouldn't access otherwise.

The fourth dimension, often conceptualized as time or a higher spatial dimension beyond our three, introduces a fascinating dynamic when viewed through the lens of perception and limitations. Just as 2D represents a flattened version of 3D reality, the fourth dimension could be seen as a framework that shapes and influences the possibilities within 3D space, but in ways we might struggle to fully comprehend with our current perception.