Physics assumes – more or less has to – that its great
And holy laws remain the same wherever
You go; and this, therefore, is the unstate-
d idea that informs all our lives (though never
Propounded as such). But I have discovered a land,
Beyond an unsuspected frontier, where the rules
Are much different. Now, the cup I once held in my hand
So firmly, squirms and evades the grasp; stools
And tables that yesterday stood so obedient have start-
ed to inch slyly forward, nudging me cheek-
ily; while previously rock-solid walls secretly part
To swallow up the very things I seek.
From this, I deduce a lemma of my own invention:
Isotropy breaks down for the fourth dimension.
And holy laws remain the same wherever
You go; and this, therefore, is the unstate-
d idea that informs all our lives (though never
Propounded as such). But I have discovered a land,
Beyond an unsuspected frontier, where the rules
Are much different. Now, the cup I once held in my hand
So firmly, squirms and evades the grasp; stools
And tables that yesterday stood so obedient have start-
ed to inch slyly forward, nudging me cheek-
ily; while previously rock-solid walls secretly part
To swallow up the very things I seek.
From this, I deduce a lemma of my own invention:
Isotropy breaks down for the fourth dimension.
(28.1.1998)
