Dimensions.
Reflecting on dimensions has a long history in popular culture, from the geometrically minded satirical novella Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott to the 1937 film The Fourth Dimension by director Jean Painleve. But how is the relationship between different dimensions explored in the Star Trek universe? From a plane of two-dimensional beings in the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode "The Loss," to higher-dimensional beings like members of the Q continuum with their ability to pop in and out of three-dimensional space at will, Star Trek is replete with examples of dimensional interplay.
In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling are joined by Trek.fm Patreon manager and host of Melodic Treks and Warp Five, Brandon-Shea Mutala, to discuss the physics, the philosophy, and the geometry of dimensions in the Star Trek universe.
Chapters
Welcome to Episode 58 (00:01:09)
Introducing Brandon-Shea Mutala and Patreon (00:01:58)
Flatland and The Fourth Dimension (00:15:26)
Time as a Dimension vs. Higher Spatial Dimensions (00:18:46)
Lower-Dimensional and Higher-Dimensional Beings (00:21:01)
Bending Space - Warp Drive and Wormholes (00:30:28)
Higher-Dimensions and Omniscience (00:43:20)
Slices of Cheese - Alternate Three-Dimensional Realms (00:45:51)
Four-Dimensionalism and Wormhole Aliens (00:50:23)
The Motion Picture and Visualizing Dimensional Slices (00:57:28)
Fluidic Space - A Different Kind of Cheese (00:59:07)
Captain Proton and The Fifth Dimension (01:03:12)
Dimensions in Theoretical Physics - String Theory (01:04:46)
The Paranormal and Pseudoscience (01:08:26)
From Theoretical Physics to Experimental Physics (01:12:14)
Dimensions, Transporters, and Personal Identity (01:14:06)
The Mathematics of Higher Dimensions (01:16:57)
Final Thoughts (01:18:14)
Hosts
Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling
Guest
Brandon-Shea Mutala
Production
Mike Morrison (Editor) Zachary Fruhling (Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Shaw (Associate Producer) Norman Lao (Associate Producer) Kit Loffstadt (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)
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Paradoxes of Motion.
From the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea to the 20th century physicist Albert Einstein, philosophers and scientists for thousands of years have been preoccupied with attempting to understand the seemingly paradoxical nature of motion. In this episode of Meta Treks, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling discuss three of the most famous paradoxes of motion: Zeno's Arrow Paradox, Zeno's Dichotomy Paradox, and the Twin Paradox from Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity. Together Mike and Zachary recount their Star Trek themed interpretation of these classic paradoxes of motion: The Photon Torpedo Paradox, the Nenebek Paradox, and the Delaney Sisters Paradox.
Chapters
Welcome to Episode 54 (00:01:07)
Initial Thoughts and Defining "Paradox" (00:02:38)
Zeno's Arrow Paradox or The Photon Torpedo Paradox (00:06:16)
Zeno's Dichotomy Paradox or The Nenebek Paradox (00:19:57)
Einstein's Twin Paradox or The Delaney Sisters Paradox (00:28:25)
Recap and Final Thoughts (00:45:28)
Hosts
Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling
Production
Mike Morrison (Editor) Zachary Fruhling (Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Ken Tripp (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Shaw (Associate Producer) Norman Lao (Associate Producer) Richard Marquez (Production Manager) Brandon-Shea Mutala (Patreon Manager)
Send us your feedback!
Twitter: @trekfm
Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm
Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm
Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact
Visit the Trek.fm website at http://www.trek.fm/
Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm
Support the Network!
Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep Star Trek talk coming every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm
"Cause and Effect" and the Metaphysics of Time.
In this 33rd episode of Meta Treks, "All Threes," hosts Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison use the TNG episode "Cause and Effect" as the starting point for a discussion on the physics and the metaphysics of time. Zachary and Mike consider the core philosophical questions about the nature of time, such as ontology (whether the past and the future really exist), duration (why time moves at the rate it does), movement (whether there is a flow of time or whether events are fixed in time), linear time versus branching time, subjective time versus objective time, reconciling relativistic physics of time with quantum physics of time, and whether time is "out there" or imposed on reality by the mind.
Chapters
Welcome to Episode 33 (00:01:20)
Initial Thoughts on "Cause and Effect" (00:04:39)
Spacetime - Time is Malleable (00:14:32)
The Physics of Time and the Metaphysics of Time (00:16:06)
Four Dimensionalism - Do the Present and Future Exist? (00:24:42)
Circumventing Einstein - Warp Drive and Relativity (00:26:22)
Time and Ontology - The Past, the Present, and the Future (00:36:24)
Movement through Time (00:38:54)
Duration - The Arbitrariness of the Rate of Time (00:44:13)
Quantum Entanglement and Simultaneity (00:49:03)
The Direction of Time - Why Does Time Flow Forward But Not Backward? (00:55:17)
The Branching Theory of Time (00:58:39)
Subjective Time vs. Objective Time (01:08:02)
Immanuel Kant - The Mind Structures Experience in Time and Space (01:11:17)
Final Thoughts (01:22:00)
Hosts
Zachary Fruhling and Mike Morrison
Production
Mike Morrison (Editor and Producer) Norman C. Lao (Executive Producer) C Bryan Jones (Executive Producer) Matthew Rushing (Executive Producer) Charlynn Schmiedt (Executive Producer) Patrick Devlin (Associate Producer) Kay Elizabeth Janeway (Associate Producer) Will Nguyen (Content Manager) Richard Marquez (Production Manager)
Send us your feedback!
Twitter: @trekfm
Facebook: http://facebook.com/trekfm
Voicemail: http://www.speakpipe.com/trekfm
Contact Form: http://www.trek.fm/contact
Visit the Trek.fm website at http://www.trek.fm/
Subscribe in iTunes: http://itunes.com/trekfm
Support the Network!
Become a Trek.fm Patron on Patreon and help us keep Star Trek talk coming every week. We have great perks for you at http://patreon.com/trekfm
Alternate Realities vs. Alternate Timelines.
In this episode of Meta Treks: A Star Trek Philosophy
Podcast, hosts Mike Morrison and Zachary Fruhling have a
followup discussion on the distinction between an "alternate
reality" and an "alternate timeline" in response to a challenge by
Norman Lao and Jeffrey Harlan on their recent episode of
Standard Orbit (Standard Orbit 115: "Wibby Wobbly Primey
Wimey").
Mike and Zachary provide a philosophical analysis of different
senses of the terms "alternate reality" and "alternate timeline,"
while also exploring and contrasting key examples of these senses
in Star Trek. Examples covered in this episode of Meta
Treks include the prime timeline vs. the Abramsverse timeline,
the episodes "Yesterday's Enterprise" and "Parallels" from Star
Trek: The Next Generation, and the Mirror Universe as seen in
The Original Series, Deep Space Nine, and
Enterprise.
Here is the link to the related episode, Standard Orbit 115
("Wibbly Wobbly Primey Wimey"): http://trek.fm/standard-orbit/115
Chapters
Welcome to Episode 16 (00:01:07)
Related Episodes of Meta Treks (00:05:18)
Bryan Fuller and Star Trek 2017 (00:07:54)
Initial Thoughts - Alternate Reality vs. Alternate Timeline
(00:10:33)
Two Senses of "Alternate Reality" (00:12:25)
Personal Identity and Alternate Realities (00:19:01)
Universe or Multiverse? (00:25:27)
Yesterday's Enterprise (00:26:57)
Two Senses of "Alternate Timeline" (00:28:36)
Contrasting "Yesterday's Enterprise" with Star Trek 2009
(00:32:34)
Reconciling "Alternate Reality" and "Alternate "Timeline" - A
Hybrid Approach (00:34:52)
Four-Dimensionalism and Alternate Timelines (00:38:53)
Does a Common Origin Point Settle the Issue? (00:43:45)
The Origin of the Mirror Universe (00:47:46)
How to Analyze Examples in Star Trek - What Questions to Ask
(00:51:33)
Final Thoughts (00:57:40)