Can you make some examples of 4-D media? I am thinking of mathematical simulations, and also a friend of mine made a 4-D MUD once. What are some good places to explore on the topic?

Hi there! I'm one of those Friday morning architecture students Tony mentioned. This semester has been really interesting so far. Architects design 3D spaces, but we describe it in 2D with drawings and in 4D as we talk about changes in the spaces over time (how people use it, sun, shadows, etc.) I think this is something that i must have known but it never really occured to me that that is what we do without realizing it. I'm really interested in the experience of spaces: how they function, how people move through them, how they feel it in... I'm hoping that this discussion of the 2 and 4D will help me describe such experiences better.

One example of the 4D being used in architectural representation would be showing an interior space and how natural lighting passes within that space throughout the day. Studies like this would give the viewer a much better sense of the space and how the openings relate to the existing environment. I've seen it done through Viz, 3D max, and even some in sketchup, but it could also be done by taking pictures of a conventional model and importing into after effects.

What is a 4-D MUD?

4-D is messy language because most 4-D media—generally those referred to as incorporating specific duration, sound, motion—kind of skip over the 3-D variables as we would encounter them in a tactile, volumetric world. On the other hand, the term serves the purpose to call into question shifting from 2-D to 3-D to additional dimensions/channels that carry some additional unique info (kinetic, aural, haptic) and how those various Ds are represented.

{{ MUD—Multi-User Domain—has been around for quite some time and you can find mounds of info on what they are. In short, think D+D meets the Internet. 4-D MUD? I'm not familiar with the term but a guess could be made pretty easily. Neologisms abound. }}