We see dimensions as central to reality. The three dimensions of space, up and down, forward and backward, left and right, we take for granted, and some see time as a fourth. But critics argue that dimensions aren’t fundamental to the universe, and a way of viewing the world. From string theory, which proposes up to 26 dimensions, to the holographic principle — positing just 2, different theories of reality propose radically different numbers of dimensions. Many argue, furthermore, that making sense of the world through “dimensions” was a historical accident of Ancient Greece. And early Chinese models of space as fluid and interconnected, without reliance on straight lines and rigid dimensional boundaries embraced curved spaces, essential to modern understandings of how gravity warps spacetime.
Are dimensions merely part of the mathematical framework used to account for what we observe? And should we see them not only as sometimes misguided, but actively obstructive to progress? Or should we keep looking to establish the correct number of dimensions to describe our universe?