Yes, 11 dimensions, sometimes 12.
Sting theory does appear to be one of the more exotic mathematical exercises to come down the pike. It recognizes the need for "extra" dimensions beyond the 4D of ordinary experience. What is striking to me, however, is string theory's propagation of additional spatial dimensions. (IIRC, it calls for only one extra temporal dimension.) These new-found spatial dimensions are said to be curled up unto themselves and are incredibly teensy — less than Planck length in size. Right there, one knows that they would be physically indetectable on the basis of direct observation in principle. Which kind of puts string theory in the same boat as multi-world cosmological theories: There is no known way to validate or disprove the existence of e..g., "other" worlds, or "other dimensions" in this case.
But the string theorists are all pros, and I am but an amateur. So what do I know? Still, I'm happy the string theorists are happy with their work, and look forward to hearing about any progress they are making.
zeugma, I highly recommend Wesson's article, Time as an Illusion. Here's the abstract from the article:
We review the idea, due to Einstein, Eddington, Hoyle and Ballard, that time is a subjective label, whose primary purpose is to order events, perhaps in a higher-dimensional universe. In this approach, all moments in time exist simultaneously, but they are ordered to create the illusion of an unfolding experience by some physical mechanism. This, in the language of relativity, may be connected to a hypersurface in a world that extends beyond spacetime. Death in such a scenario may be merely a phase change.If nothing else, the article will likely give you something new to think about!
Anyhoot, Wesson developed a 5-dimensional model of the universe that posits a fifth "time-like" dimension, which operates as an extra-cosmic hypersurface. In this particular article, Wesson points out the many ways in which our perception of time may well be a mainly subjective construct.
Fun stuff to think about!
Thanks so much for writing, zeugma!
This planar temporal reality is not outside of the cosmic reality, it is merely so complex (or more simple?) that the way we are currently constructed, we do not sense it directly. I do however believe that our body exist in the sensed linear temporal realm, and our soul exists in this planar temporal realm, and the spirit component of our soul perhaps exists in yet a more complex (or perhaps more simple?) 'hypervolume'.
Borrowing notions from spatial description, dimensions have variablity expressions, as in dimension space is linear, planar, and volumetric, where planes are composed of linear expressions thus bringing about a greater exprerssion of planar, and planes make up the volumetric, etc., and similarly for dimension Time. Our bodies have been created to sense the linear temporal reality, yet the mind of our soul assimilates the linear temporal data, to fashion a composite planar temporal meaning.
When the light from a distant star reaches us, we can abstract from the wave patterns the present state of the star when the photon was emitted, yet that present is well gone since it occurred at a time (linearly/planarly/volumetrically speaking) long since past, before we even existed to be a receiver of the data. BUT, if there is planar and volumetric temporal expression, then the background realm of 'the cosmos' has all events occurring within the volume of reality thus nothing that is or happanes actually happens outside of spacetime reality of some continuua expressions. [The last is offered with thanks to Alamo-Girl for sharing the 'without time, events do not occur, and without space things do not exist' expression. That notion arrived in my psyche at a time when I was truly struggling to accept these notions of where/when continuua, and the clarity that insight offered nailed my conceptualizations down for acceptance in my mind. Since I trust the Bible to be true and truly information from God for us, I am finding numerous passages in the Bible which become so much clearer with this new cosmological perspective: Daniel Chapter Five is an excellent example.]