E8: Visualizing 248 Dimensions

It is 6am and I am not even going to pretend to be smart enough to understand this. This is a 2-dimensional projection of a E8, a 248-dimensional object seen here simplified into only 8-dimensions to help preserve sanity. Essentially, if I understand it correctly, it’s like a 2-D shadow of a 248-D sphere, an […]

E8dimension

It is 6am and I am not even going to pretend to be smart enough to understand this.

This is a 2-dimensional projection of a E8, a 248-dimensional object seen here simplified into only 8-dimensions to help preserve sanity. Essentially, if I understand it correctly, it’s like a 2-D shadow of a 248-D sphere, an object so symmetrical you could theoretically rotate it in any direction in up to 248 dimensions and it still appear the same

You know, it took a team of eighteen mathematicians four years to produce this calculation. It's formula? 60 gigabytes. And yet my only appreciation of such a sublime and beautiful piece of mathematics comes because it happens to have a lot of pretty colors and swirls. My reaction is like a trepanation enthusiast delightedly clapping at the antics of a pinwheel.

E8