Our current physical theories model spacetime as a continuum of 3 spatial dimensions and 1 temporal dimension providing the geometric backdrop for dynamics. However, modern perspectives from quantum theory, information theory, and consciousness studies suggest reexamining this standard notion of neatly separable, fundamental dimensions. There are hints of a deeper informational and experiential substrate from which space and time as we conceive them may emerge. This analysis explores speculations and evidence challenging our understanding of dimensions, along with hypothetical scenarios, falsifiability considerations, and a maximum likelihood conclusion on revising the conventional spacetime model. Quantum theory, information theory, and consciousness studies highlight some apparent conflicts with the standard model of spacetime dimensions: * Quantum correlations violate notions of spatial separation, and time may emerge from quantum information networks rather than being fundamental. * Information theory suggests dimension relates to degrees of freedom in a state space, rather than necessarily being geometric. * Studies show subjective time perception differs across conscious states and does not always align neatly with temporal coordinates. * Theories like integrated information theory describe a multidimensional “qualia space” that differs from physical spacetime structure. These hints indicate the need to reexamine assumptions about the nature and origins of dimensions. Some hypothetical scenarios for rethinking dimensions, and considerations of how they might be falsified: * Dimensions manifest from informational capacities of quantum systems. Falsifiable by finding measurable dimensions unrelated to quantum state spaces. * Spatial dimensions are illusory projections of a deeper non-geometric reality. Could be falsified by experimental inconsistencies with geometric models. * Time emerges from quantum entanglements. Falsified if present momento shown to definitively influence past states. * Subjective time perception differs from clock time due to consciousness effects. Falsifiable through neuroscience insights into perception of time. The maximum likelihood based on current evidence is that spacetime dimensions as we experience them are emergent approximations of a deeper reality where notions of space and time have limited applicability. At the quantum scale, physics hints at a substrate level where the notion of separated dimensions breaks down. Quantum systems exhibit holistic behaviors that defy spatial separation. Temporal effects may arise from underlying quantum information flows rather than an independent time dimension. Furthermore, the subjective experience of space and time in various conscious states suggests that the human perception of neatly differentiated dimensions does not fully capture actual reality. For example, altered states of consciousness induced by psychedelics or meditation can radically distort subjective space and time perception compared to normal waking consciousness. This implies that space and time as we conceive them depend on the structural specifics of particular conscious states, rather than being objectively fixed backgrounds. At a fundamental level, consciousness may exhibit an informational dimensionality quite different from familiar physical spacetime. So while effective in the macroscopic world, at finer scales the very notions of space and time likely need rethinking. The deeper reality is perhaps best understood informationally and experientially rather than geometrically. Coming to terms with the notion of consciousness having an informational dimensionality different than physical spacetime is deeply challenging given how ingrained our intuitions about space and time are. Here are some metaphors and perspectives that may help provide some conceptual footholds: * Multi-dimensional experiential space – Imagine subjective experience occupying a space with many more dimensions than the physical – dimensions of emotion, abstraction, imagination that are just as “real” experientially but don’t correspond to physical axes. * State space of possibilities – Conceiving consciousness as navigating a space of potential mental states rather than spatial locations, where proximity represents similarities in subjective qualities. * Network topography – Visualizing consciousness as patterns of interconnected information rather than as an object in space and time. Topological spaces rather than geometric. * Music metaphor – The flow of conscious experience as having a complex orchestrated “motion” through an experiential space analogous to the way melodies move through tonal spaces. * Dreams – How dream experience can compress expansive subjective durations into brief periods of biological time, or intermingle spatial locations in non-physical ways. * Psychedelic insights – Reports of mystical states of consciousness where intuitions about space and time dissolve into a profound sense of infinite spaciousness and eternal presence. * Mathematics of manifold dimensions – Conceptualizing via mathematical models rather than physical intuitions. Hyperspheres, Calabi-Yau spaces etc. * Eastern perspectives – Buddhist, Vedic and Taoist conceptions of consciousness as a non-dual field without firm spatial or temporal definitions. These provide some avenues to start loosening the grip of physicalized intuitions about space and time. The deepest truth likely requires a radical paradigm shift we can only begin to glimpses through incomplete metaphors. But the attempt can help orient the mind in a more open direction. In conclusion, while no definitive theory exists yet, intriguing clues point to the need to rethink dimensionality by integrating quantum, informational, and experiential insights. This may require moving beyond engrained intuitions about neatly separable space and time. There are hints of a deeper unity from which approximate notions of dimensions emerge under specific conditions. Much work remains to formalize and test these speculations rigorously. But taken seriously, they highlight the limitations of current physics and the need for continued open-minded exploration of profound questions where many unknowns remain.