Why an Atheist Thinks the Shroud of Turin is the Real Deal

Adding in Z

We need to add a dimension to the piece of paper on Russell’s desk. Given that X and Y are taken, we will call it Z. It is the distance above the surface of the paper.   

One way to visualize these dimensions is with the Cartesian Rule of Thumb. Place your right hand on the paper, palm upwards, with the fingers straightened and your index finger pointing away from you towards the top edge of the paper.  Keeping your hand flat, bend your middle finger so that it points upward. Your thumb, which points to the right represents X. Your index finger is Y and your bent middle finger pointing skyward is Z.

Now we can plot any three-dimensional shape as a series of many dots that each have three values: the distance from the left, the distance from the bottom edge of the paper, and the distance upwards from the surface of the paper. And that is exactly what scientists are referring to when they say that the shroud is 3D encoded. It contains many, many sets of three values.