The Universal Order of Design - seven dimensions of space-time

This is the third blog of a series where I am trying to sum up and correct the theory of process as described by Arthur M. Young in his book, The Reflexive Universe. See the previous two blogs:

The Seven States of Creation - the Universal Order of Design
The Universal Order of Design - part 2

What is the topic?  It is actually a theory that seeks to organize all of reality into discrete degrees or levels. In the universe, there are seven planes of existence, which Young proposed was as follows:

Each plane is a discrete degree of order. Within each plane, there are seven substates, in which the pattern repeats. Its as if each plane or kingdom is representing a microcosm of the whole. And the smaller we go, the pattern repeats: always there are seven discrete degrees of order. The previous degree of order must exist prior to the subsequent degree of order. So they build upon each other. Another principle is that in the first four planes, matter progressively loses degrees of freedom, until reality becomes deterministic. This determinism is broken when life forms break free, and progressively regain their freedom.

The theory, as described by Arthur M. Young, is incomplete. When he comes to the higher stages, he struggles with terminology, and seeks answers in ancient myths to understand what is going on. So I am not going to cover the rest of his lectures. The second plane, the subatomic world, he left alone, and described it as a "work in progress." Moreover, he makes what I consider an error: he assigns light to the first plane of existence, when light in fact is a subatomic particle. So, as described previously, I would like to correct the the theory and describe the seven planes as follows:

1. Space-time. Scalar fields and 0 spin particles (Higgs-Boson goes here)
2. Subatomic particles. Force mediating particles (single or double spin) and matter particles (half spin). Light belongs in this plane of reality.
3. Atoms
4. Molecules
5. Plants
6. Animals and Man
7. The Spiritual World - for the most part, an unknown state of existence.

Young was able to find the seven substages of Atoms, Molecules, Plants, and Animals. The seventh was unknown to him, except that he knew it was a higher stage of development for man. For the subatomic plane, after a bit of trial and error, I came up with the following seven substates:

1. Graviton (gravitational force). A theoretical 2 spin particle.
2. Photon (electromagnetic force). 1 spin particle.
3. W and Z bosons (weak nuclear force). 1 spin particle.
4. Gluons (strong nuclear force). 1 spin particle.
5. Quarks. Half spin particle. Used to build the higher level fermions.
6. Baryons (protons, neutrons...). Half spin particles.
7. Leptons (electrons, neutrinos...). Half spin particles.

What was pleasing - and surprising - about Young's theory is how well the seven substages of the subatomic world is a "microcosm" of the higher seven planes. Again, we see how the first four substages of the subatomic world correspond to one of the guage bosons, a force carrier which keeps retricting the freedom of particles. These are the only four forces of the universe - no more, no less. The next three are covered by the fermion matter particles. For the fifth I struggled a bit, until I realized that quarks are smaller half spin fermions. The pattern was predicting a half spin fermion. As you can see, I am blogging while I research this, as I have been meaning to do this research on this neglected theory for several years...there were several gaps, luckily when I discovered Emanuel Swedenborg he covered a big huge gap, which I will get to later.

Let us move on to the atomic plane.  All atoms are described in the periodic table of the elements:

Note that in the periodic table of the elements, there are 7 rows. These are the seven Periods of the Periodic table. This row defines the seven substages of the atomic world. Similar attributes among the elements tends to be defined by where in the column it resides, which is known as its group. An atom's properties is completely defined by its number of protons and electrons. Thus the seven substages of the atomic plane are:

1. Hydrogen (H).
2. Helium to Fluorine (He to F).
3. Neon to Chlorine (Ne to Cl).
4. Argon to Bromine (Ar to Br).
5. Krypton to Iodine (Kr to I).
6. Xenon to Astatine (Xe to At).
7. Radon to #118 (Rn to Uuo).

Note that element #118 - the last in the row of the seventh period, was discovered very recently: it was discovered in 2002. So in many ways, we are dealing with the edges of science here.

Oddly, the first substage has one element - Hydrogen. I can't remember what Young said about that in his book the Reflexive Universe (someone borrowed it many years ago), but Hydrogen has seven known isotopes (where the number of neutrons differs from the number of protons). Now lets move on to the seven substages of the molecular world. The following classifications were obtained by Arthur M. Young from Charles Price, head of the American Chemical Society:

1. Metals
2. Simple Compounds (Salts, Ionic Bond)
3. Nonfunctional Compounds (Covalent Bond)
4. Functional Compounds
5. Nonfunctional Polymers
6. Functional Polymers (Proteins)
7. DNA.

Just as the seventh stage of the subatomic world - the electrons - largely becomes the basis of the atom's properties, so the seventh stage of the molecular world - DNA - is the basis for all life forms.  Here are the seven substages of the vegetable kingdom:

1. Phytoplankton (? not sure on this one, could not see it on the grid)
2. Algae (Colonies)
3. Embryophytes (Embryos)
4. Psylophytes (Vascular stem)
5. Pteridophyes (Segments)
6. Gymnosperm (Seeds)
7. Angiosperm (Flowers)

Here at the seven substages of the animal kingdom:

1. Paramecea (one-celled animals).
2. Metazoa (many-celled animals) - Sponges
3. Coelenterates (one organ animals) - having identity, or a center, or inside and out
4. Mollusks (many organ animals). Many filae were put together for this one.
5. Annelids (segmentation)
6. Arthropods (side segments, or legs) - all insects, crabs, lobsters, shrimp. Increased legs, until finally down to six. Highly developed instincts. Exoskeleton.
7. Chordata, or vertebrates. Nerve cord.

At the highest order of the animal kingdom, we have man. Thus this "theory of everything" supports evolution. But why are we seeing simple things becoming more and more complex?  What is the driving factor for increased complexity, and increasing levels of organization?

THE FIRST PLANE OF EXISTENCE: SPACE-TIME

Now I want to backtrack to the first plane of existence - space-time, without which of course we can have no particles. In this realm I put the Higgs-Boson - something different than anything we have seen before: its a 0 spin scalar particle, the manifestation of a scalar field that exists everywhere in the universe. Without the discovery of the Higgs-Boson I would have never heard of the branch of knowledge which deals with scalar fields and particles. This discovery is months old --- and scientists are wondering where it fits in the Standard Model.  So I have seen this diagram:

This Higgs field gives all particles their mass, so it is a fundamental field required for existence. Scalars were used by physicists to help describe the quantum world. The Higgs-Boson is the first observation of a scalar particle. For a deeper explanation, see the blog, Higgs boson, scalar fields, and a victory for string theory. Some of the mathematical language is beyond my level: thus the public is largely unaware of the potential significance of the Higgs boson.

Space-time is not "nothing" its a field - one or more of them.  Our mind understands 3 space dimensions and 1 time dimension - so my assessment of this plane earlier was probably too simplistic.  I think, we have a problem.  According to the theory, and the pattern we have seen in all known planes of existence, space-time should have seven dimensions. This, of course, is impossible to visualize. So I was curious, is there any theory that specifies seven dimensions for space-time? If we turn to pure mathematics, this is what is known of a seven dimensional world:

"Abstract seven-dimensional space occurs frequently in mathematics, and is a perfectly legitimate construct. Whether or not the real universe in which we live is somehow seven-dimensional (or indeed higher) is a topic that is debated and explored in several branches of physics, including astrophysics and particle physics, but it does not matter for mathematics."

What is interesting, a cross product between 2 vectors can only occur in 3 dimensional space, or 7 dimensional space. Mathematically, the full set of vector operations can be performed in 7 dimensions. But is this just a pure mathematical construct, or does it exist in reality?  In physics, we now get into an area known as "String Theory", which seeks to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity. It proposes that elementary particles are not 0 dimensional objects, but rather 1 dimensional vibrating strings. So I was quite surprised to find this statement from Wikipedia:

"A key feature of string theory is that, though it is an attempt to model our physical universe, it takes place in a space with more dimensions than the four of spacetime that we are familiar with. In particular a number of string theories take place in a ten dimensional space, adding an extra six dimensions. These extra dimensions are required by the theory, but as they cannot be observed are thought to be quite different, perhaps compactified so they form a six dimensional space with a particular geometry too small to be observable. In M-theory, which unifies the five types of string theory, there is a seventh dimension involved."

So as I read it, there are 3 ordinary spacial dimensions, the time dimension, plus 7 non-observable "compactified" extra spacial dimensions. I found another article entitled Physicists say universe evolution favored three and seven dimensions.  I will quote from it in full:


Physicists who work with a concept called string theory envision our universe as an eerie place with at least nine spatial dimensions, six of them hidden from us, perhaps curled up in some way so they are undetectable. The big question is why we experience the universe in only three spatial dimensions instead of four, or six, or nine.

Two theoretical researchers from the University of Washington and Harvard University think they might have found the answer. They believe the way our universe started and then diluted as it expanded – what they call the relaxation principle – favored formation of three- and seven-dimensional realities. The one we happen to experience has three dimensions.

"That's what comes out when you do the math," said Andreas Karch, a University of Washington assistant professor of physics and lead author of a new paper that details the theory.
Karch and his collaborator, Lisa Randall, a physics professor at Harvard, set out to model how the universe was arranged right after it began in the big bang, and then watch how the cosmos evolved as it expanded and diluted. The only assumptions were that it started with a generally smooth configuration, with numerous structures – called membranes, or "branes" – that existed in various spatial dimensions from one to nine, all of them large and none curled up.
The researchers allowed the cosmos to evolve naturally, without making any additional assumptions. They found that as the branes diluted, the ones that survived displayed three dimensions or seven dimensions. In our universe, everything we see and experience is stuck to one of those branes, and for it to result in a three-dimensional universe the brane must be three-dimensional.
Other realities, either three- or seven-dimensional, could be hidden from our perception in the universe, Karch said.
"There are regions that feel 3D. There are regions that feel 5D. There are regions that feel 9D. These extra dimensions are infinitely large. We just happen to be in a place that feels 3D to us," he said.
In our world, forces such as electromagnetism only recognize three dimensions and behave according to our laws of physics, their strength diminishing with distance. Gravity, however, cuts across all dimensions, even those not recognized in our world, Karch and Randall say. But they theorize that the force of gravity is localized and, with seven branes, gravity would diminish far more quickly with distance than it does in our three-dimensional world.
"We know there are people in our three-brane existence. In this case we will assume there are people somewhere nearby in a seven-brane existence. The people in the three-brane would have a far more interesting world, with more complex structures," Karch said. With gravity diminishing rapidly with distance, a seven-dimensional existence would not have planets with stable orbits around their sun, Karch said.
"I am not precisely sure what a universe with such a short-range gravity would look like, mostly because it is always difficult to imagine how life would develop under completely different circumstances," he said. "But in any case, planetary systems as we know them wouldn't form. The possibility of stable orbits is what makes the three-dimensional world more interesting."
Karch and Randall detail their work in the October edition of Physical Review Letters, published by the American Physical Society. The research was supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation.
Karch said they hope the work will spark extensive scientific exploration of many other questions involving string theory, extra dimensions and the evolution of the cosmos.

So what is pleasing about this theory of Arthur M. Young, which he called a theory of "process", is that it can help explain and organize everything we know. I had no idea that some mathematicians and physicists were exploring the idea of a seven dimensional space. But the theory, or pattern, was stating that a "seven dimensional space" should exist. This is the process Young went through: for him it was a giant crossword puzzle, where we need to fill in the blank. Before all the elements of the atomic were known, once the periodic table was discovered scientist could predict the behaviours of elements before they were discovered. Once we recognize a pattern of order in one plane of existence, we can extend that to obtain knowledge of other planes of existence. They "correspond" to each other, and it is what Swedenborg called the doctrine of Correspondences. And everything that has been stated so far is based on factual, observed science, or theories that have a strong mathematical foundation. From the known discrete orders of existence, I placed the graviton as a first order subatomic particle, and the photon (light) as a second order subatomic particle. This is because the graviton at the secondary subatomic plane "corresponds" with the entire plane of space-time.  And look at the above article: gravity cuts across all seven dimenions, light does not. I did not know that, If we recognize the symbolism of the discrete orders of existence, we can now begin to obtain knowledge of a higher degree of existence: the spiritual world, or the seventh plane of existence.

And one last point: how does one represent 7 dimensions in a 2 or 3 dimensional world?  This is done by projections and manifolds, used in a field of study called topology. A "projection" or "manifold" shows how a lower dimension "corresponds" with a higher dimension. Take a look at the following example:

The video is based on the work of Heinz Hopf, a German mathematician, who discovered the Hopf fibration. So from what I understand from the above video, if we want to represent 7 dimensions in a 3 dimensional world, we end up with a torus, or make use of one or more tori to represent that:

Here is another representation of the Hopf fibration:

We see in the manifold the vesica piscis, two intersecting circles which is used to form the fish symbol of Christianity:

For a discussion of the symbolic significance of this geometric form - separate from the torus - see the previous blog entry, Sacred Christian Geometry - the Seed of Life.

In map theory, whereas on a 2 dimensional plane or a sphere we need at least 4 colors to color it, so that no color touches another of the same color, it takes 7 colors to color the surface of a torus. Arthur M. Young mentions the torus in his book The Reflexive Universe, but does not explain well enough of how it is related to the theory, perhaps because he missed the realization that the first plane of existence is space-time, and space is beginning to look like it has seven dimensions. If we look at string-theory, they make use of the torus to describe the 7 dimensions.  Here is a quote:

"We consider compactifying M theory on a 4-torus down to 7 dimensions. The theory
has 32 supersymmetries and is unique: the only possible multiplet is the gravity multiplet." (From Matrix Theory and U-duality in Seven Dimensions)

So where does the torus appear in reality?  Take a look at the shape of the electromagnetic field:

The field, with the north and south pole of magnetism, is in the shape of a torus. The torus is a fundamental form of the universe. Current scientific theory is beginning to point to a reality of seven dimensions.

THE DOCTRINE OF CORRESPONDENCES

We see that at each plane of existence, each state or substate corresponds with each other. A prior state or plane is the cause of the subsequent plane.  A subsequent plane is a more complex pattern than the previous plane. We see how correspondence is fundamental to mathematics: projections and manifolds are required to understand higher dimensions. This can be seen, once it is realized that order in the universe manifests itself in discrete degrees. And this is the concept that was revealed to Emanuel Swedenborg in his visions: the Doctrine of Correspondences. And knowing it is quite useful for understanding the spiritual world which exists beyond our natural world:

"What representations and correspondences are, few know, nor can any one know unless he knows that there is a spiritual world, and this distinct from the natural world; for between spiritual things and natural things there is correspondence, and the things that exist from spiritual things in natural are representations. They are called correspondences because they correspond, and representations because they represent.
"That some idea may be had of representations and correspondences, let one reflect only on the things of the mind, that is, of the thought and will. These things so beam forth from the face that they are manifest in its look, especially the affections, and the more interior ones from and in the eyes. When the things of the face act as one with those of the mind, they are said to correspond and are correspondences; and the very looks of the face represent and are representations. It is similar with what is manifested by gestures of the body, and also with all the movements produced by the muscles. These are all according to what man thinks and wills, as is well known. The gestures and actions themselves, which are of the body, represent the things of the mind and are representations; and to be in agreement, they are correspondences." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 2987-2988).

The spiritual world has a correspondence with the natural world:

"It is also known, or may be known, that there is a spiritual world, and also a natural world. The spiritual world in the universal sense, is where spirits and angels dwell, and the natural world where men dwell. In particular, there is a spiritual world and a natural world with every man; his internal man being to him a spiritual world, and his external being to him a natural world. The things that flow in from the spiritual world and are presented in the natural, are in general representations; and so far as they agree they are correspondences." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 2987-2988).

Remember how each prior plane must preexist as the cause of the subsequent plane, and the posterior plane corresponds with the the prior plane? There is correspondence, because the spiritual world is the cause for the existence of the natural world:

"That natural things represent spiritual and correspond, may also be known from this, that what is natural cannot at all exist, except from a cause prior to itself. Its cause is from the spiritual; and there is nothing natural which does not thence derive its cause. Natural forms are effects; nor can they appear as causes, still less as causes of causes, or principles, but they receive their forms according to use in the place where they are; still however the forms of the effects represent the things which are of the causes; and indeed these latter things represent those which are of principles." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 2991).

So if we assume this is true, we can form only one conclusion: the seventh plane of existence is the spiritual world, and the seventh plane is the cause or prior plane to the first plane of existence, space-time, and all subsequent planes. We thus go not in an arc, as Arthur M. Young presents it, but in a full circle. If we know correspondence and symbolism well enough, we can derive some conclusions about the seven substates of the spiritual world.  And what are the seven substates of the seventh plane? The seventh and final plane is the most complex of all the seven planes of existence. I keep wanting to get to that, but I wanted to make sure I corrected a few statements I made about the first plane, space-time. So I will hopefully get to that in a subsequent blog.