Response from Prof. B.

It is true that we do most of our perceiving with virtually two-dimensional retinal images, but we become so good at interpreting additional clues, that we can infer three-dimensional phenomena quite accurately in a great variety of cases. But we can still be fooled, no matter how good we get. (I think that that is a theorem somehow).

In order to simulate the exploratory motions we use so well in three-space to allow us to investigate four-dimensional phenomena, we have to learn a good deal about perception and use the available technology appropriately. I'm not sure about the current state of holograms. I ask every few years, and always I seem to get the answer that I should wait a little longer, that the kind of response I'm looking for is just not feasible under current time constraints. But someday the answer will be different. We have experts on campus, notably Professor Hendrik Gerritsen in the Physics Department. Someone should ask him now. Anyone interested?

Another area that might be even more interesting in the virtual reality research being done in the computer graphics laboratory here at Brown.. It is presently set up for exploring three-dimensional spaces, but I'll bet that someone could program it to read analogue input and produce images that would correspond to different views of objects in four-space. There are all sorts of interesting projects here, and no one really knows what to expect.