The Fourth Dimension by Rudolf Steiner

Rudolf Steiner’s The Fourth Dimension (Sacred Geometry, Alchemy, and Mathematics) is a bizarre, possibly perspective changing book that approaches conflicts in the aforementioned subject matter with wide-open mindedness. Steiner attempts to progressively develop your perception of four dimensional space by means of expanding from one dimensional concept to and through three dimensional reality.

By exemplifying a two dimensional being’s inability to perceive three dimensional space, and then manipulating that picture so that it appears three dimensional, he goes one step further to show us exactly what it is that we can not perceive.

As confusing as that all may sound, many pictures and diagrams go hand in hand with the point being made in the book. When Steiner references an object that is just beyond three dimensional limitations, he, to the best of his ability draws a picture for you to follow right up to that last moment when your own reality caves in on you again.

What can at times be a frustrating book about concepts that seem unlikely to ever be of importance, is also a book that can drive you into the excitement of learning something so profound you are barely aware you are learning it.

There are few words that can be said about a book concerned with extra dimensional reality that a three dimensional being could use or even know. Having had no reason to establish meaning behind the concepts addressed in this book the best that can be said is that the experience is out of this world. Or rather, my perception.

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by Eugene Kelly
During the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the Austrian-born Rudolf Steiner (1861—1925) became a respected and well-published scientific, literary, and philosophical scholar, particularly known for his work on Goethe's scientific writings. After the turn of the century, he began to develop his earlier philosophical principles into an approach to methodical research of psychological and spiritual phenomena. His multi-faceted genius has led to innovative and holistic approaches in medicine, science, education (Waldorf schools), special education, philosophy, religion, economics, agriculture (Bio-Dynamic method), architecture, drama, the new art of eurythmy, and other fields. In 1925 he founded the General Anthroposophical Society, which today has branches throughout the world.