The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1910-01-06
BOY OF 10 ADDRESSES
 PROFESSORS
YOUNG SIDIS KIDNAPS THE ELU- SIVE FOURTH DIMENSION, REVOJTTIONIZES GEOMETRY AND PkOPOUNDS NEW THEO- RES TO HARVARD TEACHERS.

Cambridge, Mass, Jan Civilian James Sidis, the ten year old student of Harvard, startled gray-haired math- enlatical professors by propounding some new theories of the fourth di-
 mension in a lecture which he deliv- cred last night in Conant Hall, Cam bridge, before the Harvard Mathema- tical Club
 Distinguished mathematical profes- sors from all over New England were present, and gazed in wonder as the
 rosy-cheeked boy, in short trousers, placed on the blackboard row after
 row of figures to prove his difficult and profound theories. Many of them frankly professed their ignorance of the subject of which the boy talked
 so glibly, and again and again called on him to explain anew some mathe- nautical theory
 Young Sidis, who was accompanied by his father, Dr. Boris Sidis, the well-known psychologist, stepped to began his lecture. He wore red handkerchief such as is commonly worn by boys in the primary schools and his handwriting was that of a child. But his mind was far from childish, and some of his ideas were
 beyond the comprehension of many of his auditors.
 The fourth dimension, the subject of the boys lecture, belongs to the high est branch of mathematics, and is commonly looked upon as a study for only the oldest and most experienced professors. :. It exists only as a mathe- nautical theory. The three obvious di- mensions of space may be illustrated by a straight line, by a plane like the top of table and by a cube. In the fourth dimension the figures of the third dimension, for instance, the cube, are used as sides and fig ure is constructed. This figure can only be explained and illustrated in terms of geometry.
 Young Sidis has acquired his knowl- edge of the subject by taking the most advanced courses in mathematics given at Harvard. He has worked out number of original theories, which are said to have been accept ed by the mathematicians. The boy
 started his lecture by an explanation
 of the meaning of the fourth dimen- sion and then proceeded to show how these fourth dimensional figures are constructed. He said that he did not
 expect to lecture so soon, but he had been called on, and he would do it.
 s'The fourth dimensional space"
 said young Sidis, N1s the Euclidian
 space, with one more dimension ad-
 ded on. The fourth dimensional solid
 is called confguration and is form
 ed by projecting on a line perpendicu-
 lar to the lines of the third dimension
 al figure so constructed is called a
 OyIer's theorem. A fourth dimension
 alfigure so constructed is called 8
 polyhedrogon. It is possible to con-
 struct with this theorem a figure of
 103 dimensional sides called the heca-
 tonicocehedrigon, and also a figure
 with 500 sides called the sexicocehed-
 rigon."
 Young Sidis with the aid of a cray
 on which he wielded with his little hand explained the construction of
 some fourth dimensional figures hith-
 erto unknown to the professors. He
 said that the new theories advanced
 by him at the lecture would revolu- tionize the study of geometry.
 The members of the Harvard facul
 ty who attended his lecture were Profs. w. P. Barbour, w. M. Pierce, J. c. Coolidge, w. J. Risley, c. R. Post. G. H. Palmer, E. V. Huntington, G. c. Evans, H. N. Davis, w. E. By erIy, and c. L.. Boulton.
 After the lecture these professors and many others crowded around the
 young prodigy to ask him questions and to have him explain again some of the more difficult of his theories.