Abstract

Human interaction with the world is mediated by touch as well as by sound and sight. We are accustomed to seeing as well as touching 3D objects, and, from that grounding experience, creating corresponding 3D mental models even though only 2D data may be available, e.g., on a computer screen or magazine image. This talk will explore the concept of understanding the fourth dimension, accessible to humans only through mathematical equations, by means of visual, audible, and finally by touch-based interactive computer techniques. With such tools, we can hope to enhance the available grounding experiences for learning about 4D space, exploiting traditional multimodal perceptual resources to the fullest extent possible.