The unicorn was thinking the same thing, and she blurted out, "What in the heck are frin, twaa, soui, and plebug? And what happened to the fifth and sixth dimensions?" The Story Cop replied, "The fifth dimension is the property of Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, so that is out of my jurisdiction. These are all directions in the seventh dimension." Fred asked his question - can progress be defined fully by two directions along any particular dimension? The Story Cop replied, "Ah, philosophical mathematics. A subject that has occupied many a late night study session in university dorm rooms, with the very nature of the universe being debated over pizza crusts and cheap beer. The answer, of course, if 'not always.'" Fred said, "Could you provide an example?" The Story Cop said, "The local dimension of taste. How would you describe the taste of a pepperoni pizza?" The unicorn, who liked pepperoni pizza, said "Very salty, meaty, and greasy." Fred said, "Meaty and greasy are not tastes!" The story cop said, "There are those who would disagree with you. The Oriental authorities have a taste called umami, for example." The unicorn said, "Still, you can say that pepperoni pizza is saltier than pizza with Canadian bacon. So salty can be defined by two directions, by comparision to a standard - one slice of pepperoni pizza. But taste does not lend itself well to quantitative analysis in any case." Fred was now nodding his head and pretending that he was following the conversation. The story cop answered, "Well, you have to remember that the conventional four dimensions are recognized because they can be measured easily. And realistically, the notion of moving along the dimension of time is an academic construct. In environments where frin approaches zero, one cannot actually move into the past." The unicorn tried to get back to the original point. She asked, "What is plebug, then? Can you tell me when something is less plebug, or more plebug?"
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5/30/2009 7:56:04 PM
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