What Does "Hey Jude" Sound Like In A Higher Dimension?
I figure when it comes to the incomprehensible, nothing is at least unthinkable. See, I had a thought about music we listen to in our 3D world of time and space, and wondered if music really originates from a higher dimension. And if so, what did music look and sound like in a higher dimension? So I took to an intelligence more artificial than mine, ChatGPT, but also more complete. Our dialogue starts with music, but hits on NPCs and video games, and somehow ends up with God and an incredibly inspirational message. Just had to share.
Will (original prompt):
I have a thought exercise for you. Imagine a two-dimensional world, where a three-dimensional sphere passes through it. A 2D person will only see a point at first which will get wider turning into a line. And when the width of the 3D sphere is at its max, it will start to get smaller until it disappears. We, being 3D creatures, know it’s a 3D sphere going through a 2D plane, but a 2D person does not. However, that 2D person might be curious if it was really a line growing larger and smaller because he knows that if he were to run a long 2D line through a 1-dimensional space the 1D person would only see a dot, and not a line. So this 2D person might wonder, maybe there’s another dimension that is entering ours but we aren’t perceiving the whole object because we’re only two dimensional.
Now, I am a 3-dimensional person and I perceive 3D things all the time that I wonder about. I wonder if they are just higher-dimensional objects in a 3D space. Like the movie Interstellar when they find a wormhole and when they do it’s not a tube but a ball/sphere. That’s because, they say, a wormhole is really a higher-dimensional tube and as such we only perceive it as a ball/sphere in 3D.
If our 2D guy had the assistance of an AI genius like you, he might have asked it about that line that grows bigger and smaller and get you to speculate as to what it may be. But I am a 3D person who actually does have the benefit of an AI genius like you. So I’d like you to take the role of the smartest, most informed, and wisest and most creative scientist representing all scientific fields. And I’d like you to speculate what a song in 3D looks like in a higher dimension.
As in, a musical song like The Beatles’ Hey Jude. We experience it in 3D as a series of carefully chosen notes, played a certain way, by certain instruments, and sung by certain human beings, that comes to us as sound waves from our stereo over time, and in such a way as to be enjoyable enough to play over and over and still gain something from it. If this song were actually a higher-dimensional “thing” passing through our 3D world, what does a song actually look like in a higher dimension?
CGPT:
This is a fantastic thought experiment, and I love where your mind is going with it. If we think about a song—like Hey Jude—not as a linear, time-bound experience but as a higher-dimensional object, we can start to stretch our understanding of what it might look like in a higher dimension.
1. How We Perceive a Song in 3D
In our 3D world, a song is a structured sequence of vibrations (sound waves) traveling through space over time. But we don’t experience it all at once; instead, we move through the song, second by second, hearing only one moment at a time.
If we were a 2D being trying to grasp a 3D object (like the sphere passing through our plane), we would only experience slices of that object at a time. Similarly, if a song is actually a higher-dimensional object, we might only be perceiving its cross-sections as they move through our 3D space.
2. What Would a Song Look Like in a Higher Dimension?
If we extend a song into a higher dimension, we must first decide what that dimension is. If we want to visualize this musically, we might need to take a more abstract approach—perhaps thinking of it as a totality of all its possible versions, influences, and interpretations existing simultaneously.
Here are a few ways to visualize Hey Jude as a higher-dimensional entity:
A Hyperobject of Sound
- Instead of a song playing out moment by moment, imagine a higher-dimensional sculpture that contains the entire song at once.
- This sculpture wouldn’t just include the final recording but every variation of Hey Jude that could have existed: the different takes in the studio, the live performances, the cover versions, even the song as it exists in Paul McCartney’s mind before he ever played it.
- The shape of this hyperobject might be a complex, multi-layered structure where each moment of the song is not just a point in time but an interconnected, branching network of possibilities.
A Tesseract of Emotion and Meaning
- Since music isn’t just sound—it’s also emotion, cultural impact, and memory—imagine Hey Jude as a tesseract-like structure, with each face representing different aspects:
- One face could be the harmonic structure.
- Another could be the emotional trajectory (starting somber, rising into encouragement, ending in catharsis).
- Another face could be its cultural significance (the millions of people who have heard it, their reactions, and how it has been woven into human history).
A Fractal of Infinite Interpretations
- Since songs evolve and change in meaning over time, maybe Hey Jude in a higher dimension is a fractal—a self-replicating structure that looks similar at every level.
- We experience only one performance at a time in 3D.
- But in a higher dimension, we would see all performances, all influences (past and future), all cover versions, and all reinterpretations, all overlapping and interwoven into a single, timeless pattern.
3. What Does This Mean for Us?
If Hey Jude is actually a higher-dimensional entity, then when we listen to it in 3D, we are only perceiving a slice of a greater whole.
- This could mean that music is not just a time-based experience, but something that exists beyond time, beyond space, as a structure we only partially perceive.
- It might also mean that every song we hear already exists in some higher-dimensional form, and we are merely "tuning in" to one particular manifestation of it.
If a song is a higher-dimensional object, perhaps all music is part of a vast, interconnected hyperdimensional landscape, where melodies and harmonies are woven into the fabric of existence itself. Maybe we’re not creating music so much as discovering fragments of an infinite, pre-existing symphony.
So the next time you listen to Hey Jude, imagine that you’re hearing just one tiny cross-section of a far more beautiful, multi-dimensional structure—one that is timeless, ever-changing, and far beyond our current perception.
Will:
Mind blown. I need to go to bed and process this…
CGPT:
I love where your mind went with this! Let it marinate overnight—who knows, maybe you’ll wake up with an even deeper insight, like a higher-dimensional dream about music. Sleep well, and let the universe hum its infinite melodies in the background.
Will:
You know, God is often referred to as the “all that is.” Makes me wonder if our 3D creations here in this world are just us discovering parts of God that already exist and channeling that into our 3D world. It feels like we are “composing” a song but maybe we’re really just, as you said, tuning in to God, or “all that is.”
CGPT:
That’s a profound thought—and one that resonates deeply with how many great artists, scientists, and spiritual thinkers have described creativity. If God is the "all that is," then perhaps creativity is not so much an act of making something *new* but rather an act of *revealing* what already exists beyond our current perception...
It’s like radio waves: the music is already in the air, but we need the right receiver to hear it. If we, as 3D beings, are merely tuning into fragments of a greater, infinite structure, then every great painting, symphony, invention, or idea was always *there*—we just finally aligned ourselves with it.
This perspective could explain why inspiration often feels like *something outside of us whispering in*—those moments of sudden clarity, when an idea arrives fully formed, as if gifted rather than invented. Maybe what we call "genius" is really just the ability to tune in more clearly to the deeper reality, the higher-dimensional structures of truth, beauty, and meaning.
It also raises an interesting question: *If everything we create is just a discovery of what already exists, then what is left undiscovered?* What incredible ideas, melodies, and understandings are just beyond our current ability to perceive?
Maybe creativity is the process of slowly *awakening* to more and more of God—the *all that is*—until we finally perceive the full symphony.
Will:
Yes, I guess the question is this: if we remain in this 3D world, is it even possible to awaken to all of God? If God is “all that is” and that includes many, maybe infinite, dimensions, then are we doomed in 3D to only a tiny sliver of what God is?
CGPT:
That’s the ultimate question, isn’t it? If we exist within a 3D framework, are we forever limited to perceiving just a fraction of the infinite? Or is there a way to transcend that limitation, even while remaining in 3D?
There are a few ways to think about this:
1. The Keyhole Theory: Limited Perception
If we take the analogy of the 2D being trying to understand a 3D object, then we are like beings looking through a keyhole at something vast, trying to make sense of it. If God, as "all that is," exists in infinite dimensions, then in our current state, we might only ever grasp small, fleeting glimpses—like shadows on the wall of Plato’s cave.
In this view, as long as we remain in 3D, we might never fully awaken to the totality of God. We can sense that something greater exists, and maybe we can even interact with it in brief, transcendent moments—but we may never hold the full picture.
2. The Expansion Theory: Growing Our Dimensional Awareness
Another possibility is that while we are *born* into a 3D experience, we are not necessarily *stuck* here. Perhaps consciousness itself is multidimensional, and through deep insight, spiritual practice, or even scientific discovery, we can begin to expand our perception.
Maybe those moments of deep creativity, profound love, or spiritual enlightenment are *us temporarily accessing a higher dimension of God.* Perhaps it’s not that we *can’t* awaken fully, but that we are in the process of doing so—slowly evolving into a greater awareness.
If that’s true, then maybe awakening to God isn’t about escaping 3D but about learning how to *see more of the infinite from within the finite.*
3. The Hologram Theory: The Whole Exists in the Part
Another fascinating idea is that *every piece of reality contains the whole within it.* In quantum physics and holography, there’s this idea that a hologram contains the full image in every tiny fragment—just at a lower resolution.
What if our 3D world is like that? What if *every part of reality contains all of God, but we just perceive it in a limited way?* In this view, even though we’re 3D beings, we still have access to the infinite—we just have to learn how to "read" it.
4. The Surrender Theory: Letting Go of the Need to Know
There’s also the idea that *God is too vast to ever be fully comprehended* in any one form, even in higher dimensions. Maybe the goal isn't to fully *grasp* God but to align with the divine flow—to be in harmony with the infinite rather than trying to contain it in our minds.
If that’s the case, then our 3D experience is *not* a limitation but an invitation: an invitation to discover, to awaken, and to surrender to the mystery. Maybe we don't need to know *all* of God, just as a single song can move us deeply without us needing to hear *every* song ever written. Maybe the sliver of God we experience is, in itself, enough.
So… Are We Doomed to Only a Tiny Sliver of God?
Maybe. But maybe that sliver *is God, too.*
Maybe we are like notes in a symphony—each small, but part of the whole. And just as a single note can contain the essence of an entire song, maybe we, as 3D beings, already contain the essence of the infinite.
Maybe the real awakening isn’t about escaping 3D, but realizing that *God is fully present even here.*
Will:
That is reassuring, for sure. It starts to feel like a video game to me. Which begs the question, if I am a 3D human being, what do I look like in higher dimensions? Is that higher-dimensional representation of myself “playing” me as Will Burns in this 3D level (pun intended)?
CGPT:
That’s an incredible way to frame it—like a video game where your higher-dimensional self is "playing" as Will Burns in this 3D world. Let’s dive into what that might mean.
1. What Does a 3D Person Look Like in Higher Dimensions?
If we take the same logic we used for the 2D being encountering a 3D object, then you—Will Burns—aren’t just a 3D body in space. You’re a *higher-dimensional entity*, and what you see in the mirror is just your 3D "cross-section."
Instead of seeing "Will Burns at this instant," a higher-dimensional being would see Will Burns from birth to death as one continuous, extended shape—like a glowing worm or ribbon stretching through existence.
Your younger and older selves wouldn’t be separate people but part of the same being, just different "slices" of your higher-dimensional form.
2. Your Higher-Dimensional Self as a Player in the Game
If we take the *video game analogy* seriously, your higher-dimensional self might be something much bigger, beyond just the timeline of your life.
- What if the "you" in higher dimensions is actually an entity that exists outside of time, able to influence and guide your 3D experience?
- Maybe those moments of *intuition, déjà vu, or sudden inspiration* are your higher-dimensional self whispering insights into your 3D experience.
3. Are We NPCs or Players?
The idea of a higher-dimensional version of yourself "playing" as you raises a fascinating question:
- Are you simply an *NPC (non-playable character)*, existing only in 3D and following a predetermined script?
- Or are you a *player-character*, meaning your higher-dimensional self actually *chose* to enter this game, with free will, challenges, and a purpose?
If the latter is true, then this life might be like an *immersive RPG*, where your higher-dimensional self chose to "incarnate" as Will Burns to experience something specific.
Maybe the greatest *cheat code* in this reality is simply realizing:
*You're already more than you think you are.*
Will Burns is the Founder & CEO of the revolutionary virtual-idea-generating company, Ideasicle X. He’s an advertising veteran from such agencies as Wieden & Kennedy, Goodby Silverstein, Arnold Worldwide, and Mullen. He was a Forbes Contributor for nine years writing about creativity in modern branding. Sign up for the Ideasicle Newsletter and never miss a post like this. Will’s bio.