Opal Isle
27-06-2004, 11:06
Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
-by Edwin A. Abbott
"This masterpiece of science (and mathematical) fiction is a delightfully unique and highly entertaining satire that has charmed readers for more than 100 years. The work of English clergyman, educator and Shakespearean scholar Edwin A. Abbott (1838-1926), it describes the journeys of A. Square, a mathematician and resident of the two-dimensional Flatland, where women--thin, straight lines--are the lowliest of shapes, and where men may have any number of sides, depending on their social status.
Through strange occurences that bring him into contact with a host of geometric forms, Square has adventures in Spaceland (three dimensions), Lineland (one dimension) and Pointland (no dimensions) and ultimately entertains thoughts of visiting a land of four dimensions--a revolutionary idea for which he is returned to his two-dimensional world. Charmingly illustrated by the author, Flatland is not only fascinating reading, it is still a first-rate fictional introduction to the concept of the multiple dimensions of space."
"Instructive, entertaining, and stimulating to the imagination."
Interesting read. Part of the theme is similar to The Allegory of the Cave from Plato's The Republic. But anyway, has anyone else here read it? If you haven't read it, I suggest you do. If you thought the original Matrix made you think...you'll be blown away by this novel.
-by Edwin A. Abbott
"This masterpiece of science (and mathematical) fiction is a delightfully unique and highly entertaining satire that has charmed readers for more than 100 years. The work of English clergyman, educator and Shakespearean scholar Edwin A. Abbott (1838-1926), it describes the journeys of A. Square, a mathematician and resident of the two-dimensional Flatland, where women--thin, straight lines--are the lowliest of shapes, and where men may have any number of sides, depending on their social status.
Through strange occurences that bring him into contact with a host of geometric forms, Square has adventures in Spaceland (three dimensions), Lineland (one dimension) and Pointland (no dimensions) and ultimately entertains thoughts of visiting a land of four dimensions--a revolutionary idea for which he is returned to his two-dimensional world. Charmingly illustrated by the author, Flatland is not only fascinating reading, it is still a first-rate fictional introduction to the concept of the multiple dimensions of space."
"Instructive, entertaining, and stimulating to the imagination."
Interesting read. Part of the theme is similar to The Allegory of the Cave from Plato's The Republic. But anyway, has anyone else here read it? If you haven't read it, I suggest you do. If you thought the original Matrix made you think...you'll be blown away by this novel.