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A Matter of Perspective Mark Twain once said that "if you don't like the weather in New England, wait a minute." Being a Mark Twain enthusiast, I can only say that his assumption was correct, depending on one's understanding and point of view. The fact is that, in New England, the weather has always been an extreme. And,nowdays, it seems that the climate experiences only two seasons: Summer and Winter. No longer does one get to enjoy Spring and Fall. But, I shan't ramble on because I can only assume that New Englanders will angrily and vehemently deny what they would refer to as an 'unfounded' allegation. I must retreat, in fear of reprisals, and cower in the corner freezing from, or sweating in, the frigid or tropical temperatures. Ah, yes. There is always the steaming hot cup of coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Or, the refreshing quench of an ice-cold beverage. Not being affluent, one can always retreat to the bath tub or shower, which I refer to as the 'poor person's swimming pool'. My day began on the edge of a forest glade, by the sound of a babbling brook, on a not-so-typical day. I could feel the earth trembling, beneath my feet. But,I quickly dismissed my sometimes irrational feelings because my cognitions concluded that 'earthquakes don't happen in New England'. So much for thoughts versus feelings. I decided to pay a visit to my friend, Potter, who (if there is such a thing as 'coincidence') just happens to be a potter by trade. Upon entering his studio, I noticed small masses of clay lay strewn about, as Potter took each mass and created cylindrical shapes. I watched, with great interest, as he began to shape four of the cylinders into rounds. Joining each of the rounds together, Potter formed them into a square. I continued to watch, as he meticulously and patiently joined eight of the rounds together, forming a cube. He made still another cube, forming two sides of a square. Potter seemed to be very fascinated by the wet feel of the pliable clay which, to me, looked like mere rivers of mud being transformed into an inspirational mass of artistic creation. Opening up one of the cube's corners, Potter began intersecting another cube, at a point where they would meet and run into each other. He then closed up one of the cube's corners, joining the two cubes together at their base, and slanting the corners of each cube. After joining the two cubes together at their highest points, he added six more cubes, which he formed into a four-dimensional, squared figure. The top of the first cube, joined at the top of the second cube, formed a third cube. Organizationally and systematically, Potter joined two bottom squares, allowing for the displaying of the front and back, and the right and left side of each cube. Depending on one's perspective, one may see slanted prisms (which seem to be anything but squares). This an optical illusion, however. Why? A four-dimensional figure, in three-dimension, does appear to be crooked. But, in actuality, one is looking at cubes, rather than prisms. One cube is at the base. Six cubes are on the second level. Its peak forms an enclosure, by which one can see all sides. Optical illusion sees a rectangle, at its peak, and the cubes seem to be interlaced. One-half of a cube, placed in the center of a whole cube, can be attached to the corners of both cubes. The whole cube is at the base. Six cubes are on the second level. The halved cube forms its peak. Again, depending on your perspective, you may see slanted pyramids (which seem to be anything but squares). You may only see a small cube and a larger cube, the small cube being half the size of a larger cube. But, in actuality, you are looking at what is known as a 'tesseract': a completely-exposed square, within which every wall serves two of its cubes, and one cube at its base supports the entire structure. It is an eight- cube structure, with all of its sides on the outside. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, as Potter took a cardboard box and opened it, until it became completely flat. He took four cubes and placed them, rather unsteadily, on top of the other three cubes. He then attached four additional cubes to the cube on the second level (there was one cube beneath, and two cubes on top). I noticed that the structure swayed, to some degree, relying on the support of just one cube. But, it stood its ground, and did not topple. The eight cubes formed the shape of a double, inverted cross. The attached cubes stood out, in bold relief, and faced four directions (North, East, South, and West). Appearingto defy gravity, one-eighth of the structure was able to support seven times its weight: six cubes on the second level, and one cube at its peak, equally distributing a secure load. Potter had transformed a three-dimensional structure, into a four-dimensional architectural wonder, tucking and folding: tucking the top cube onto the bottom cube, and folding the side cubes until they met the top cube. None of the cubes were folded into each other and, even though the squares appeared to be distorted, there were no distortions. Good thing, too. Because there was an earthquake that night, and Potter and I were in his 'tesseract-designed' house. On the edge of the forest, many houses were strewn in ruin but among the rubble, Potter's artistic and creative design effectively withstood the environmental test. And I, no longer a skeptic, will not further elaborate on the New England weather. (Copyright 2003)
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