Hence, of the two sets of eight cubes, each one will serve us as a
representation of one of the sixteen tesseracts which form one single
block in four-dimensional space. Each cube, as we have it, is a tray,
as it were, against which the real four-dimensional figure rests—just
as each of the squares which the plane being has is a tray, so to
speak, against which the cube it represents could rest.
If we suppose the cubes to be one inch each way, then the original
eight cubes will give eight tesseracts of the same colours, or the
cubes, extending each one inch in the fourth dimension.
But after these there come, going on in the fourth dimension, eight
other bodies, eight other tesseracts. These must be there, if we
suppose the four-dimensional body we make up to have two divisions, one
inch each in each of four directions.
The colour we choose to designate the transference to this second
region in the fourth dimension is blue. Thus, starting from the null
cube and going in the fourth dimension, we first go through one inch of
the null tesseract, then we come to a blue cube, which is the beginning
of a blue tesseract. This blue tesseract stretches one inch farther on
in the fourth dimension.
Thus, beyond each of the eight tesseracts, which are of the same colour
as the cubes which are their bases, lie eight tesseracts whose colours
are derived from the colours of the first eight by adding blue. Thus—
Null gives blue
Yellow ” green
Red ” purple
Orange ” brown
White ” light blue
Pink ” light purple
Light yellow ” light green
Ochre ” light brown
The addition of blue to yellow gives green—this is a natural
supposition to make. It is also natural to suppose that blue added to
red makes purple. Orange and blue can be made to give a brown, by using
certain shades and proportions. And ochre and blue can be made to give
a light brown.
But the scheme of colours is merely used for getting a definite and
realisable set of names and distinctions visible to the eye. Their
naturalness is apparent to any one in the habit of using colours, and
may be assumed to be justifiable, as the sole purpose is to devise a
set of names which are easy to remember, and which will give us a set
of colours by which diagrams may be made easy of comprehension. No
scientific classification of colours has been attempted.
Starting, then, with these sixteen colour names, we have a catalogue of
the sixteen tesseracts, which form a four-dimensional block analogous
to the cubic block. But the cube which we can put in space and look at
is not one of the constituent tesseracts; it is merely the beginning,
the solid face, the side, the aspect, of a tesseract.
We will now proceed to derive a name for each region, point, edge,
plane face, solid and a face of the tesseract.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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