Since I am in my mid-twenties, at any given time I have about 4.9 gazillion friends and/or family members who are pregnant. I keep encountering this odd phenomenon on Facebook: 4-D ultrasounds.
Excuse me?
I know of three measurable dimensions:
The
fourth dimension is an abstract idea used by really brilliant physicists and mathematicians. It cannot be measured and shown in an ultrasound. Sorry, it's just not possible. In former days the fourth dimension was considered to be time, but Wikipedia informs me that that idea of the fourth dimension as time is outdated, which is too bad because I was kind of imagining these 4-D ultrasounds as a super-intelligent means by which to travel through time to see what your baby will look like when it is no longer inside of you.
While I may at some point be interested in getting a 3-D ultrasound (but not likely because those cost money), I positively refuse to get a 4-D one, because those companies are insulting my intelligence.
Anyone care to guess what exactly these so-called 4-D ultrasounds are measuring?
4 comments:
Could it just be a 3D ultrasound movie?
I have never gotten one, but someone told me that the 4th D is time. (Guess they're out of date too!) So instead of just a still 3D image, you get a short 3D video. Don't know if this is true firsthand, but it kinda makes sense. I would never pay for one either, I was just lucky enough to have a doctor's office that had their own 3D machine.
I was also interested in what the mysterious 4th dimension was... From what I read, the previous commenters are right on - you get a video to take home rather than still images.
My doctor's office gave me a 3D picture along with the regular images when they did my first ultrasound - it wasn't a separate machine or anything. The ultrasound tech just pressed a button and the 3D image came up instead of the normal image. It was pretty cool, but I personally wouldn't ever pay for a separate ultraound...I'd rather just see the baby in person!
This made me laugh! I've always wondered about what everyone means by 4-D ultra sounds, and suddenly it makes even less sense than before.
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