The Art of Dimensionalisation

Three panel image by Dall-E. In the first, a hand holding a magnifying glass is looking at a graph, with a 2x2 matrix in the lower left. In the second, a human hand holding a cube on a 3D axis is adjacent to a robot hand holding a different 3D cube. In the third, two human hands, at least one of which has the correct number of fingers, are holding what is perhaps a capacitor, and circuit like drawing is above it.

Science progresses by naming what matters. Not just measuring more, or modelling faster, but finding the right dimensions to describe a problem, such that explanation, prediction, and intervention become tractable. This act, dimensionalisation, sits at the core of theory formation. Discovery of new dimensions enables new understandings, it is the key to creativity. To dimensionalise (or parameterise) … Continue reading The Art of Dimensionalisation

David Levinson