Which "broad" man famously used the idea of enforced shadow puppetry to explain the dual nature of reality?

satguru

I remember the experiment, where prisoners had to sit facing a wall and only see shadows moving to understand an extra dimension. I seem to remember it was a Greek philosopher, but has been quoted in every single book on the 4th dimension since. Edwin Abbott referred to it in his book flatland, but rather than flick through a long book to check I'll let another discover the author. Oct 07 04, 10:13 AM

Baloo55th

Seem to remember it being one of Plato's thought experiments. The prisoner could only see the shadows of the outside world cast by the fire on the wall of the cave. I do remember writing a poem based on it which is a very thinly veiled attack on the power of television to warp the minds of the viewers. Oct 07 04, 1:52 PM

gmackematix

Yay Baloo. Plato it was. His given name was Aristocles, but he was nicknamed Plato meaning "broad" from his wrestling days. Here is more on the thought experiment: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato%27s_allegory_of_the_cave Oct 07 04, 6:09 PM