Flatland is one of the very few novels about math and philosophy that can appeal to almost any layperson. Published in 1880, this short fantasy takes us to a completely flat world of two physical dimensions where all the inhabitants are geometric shapes, and who think the planar world of length and width that they know is all there is. But one inhabitant discovers the existence of a third physical dimension, enabling him to finally grasp the concept of a fourth dimension. Watching our Flatland narrator, we begin to get an idea of the limitations of our own assumptions about reality, and we start to learn how to think about the confusing problem of higher dimensions. The book is also quite a funny satire on society and class distinctions of Victorian England.


From Book News, Inc.
Reprint of the classic essay on the fourth dimension originally published in 1884. Cited in . Book News, Inc.®, Portland, OR

ANNOTATION

Century-old classic of British letters that charmed and fascinated generations of readers; witty satire of Victorian society and unique insights into the fourth dimension.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

With wry humor and penetrating satire, Flatland takes us on a mind-expanding journey into a different world to give us a new vision of our own. A. Square, the slightly befuddled narrator, is born into a place which is limited to two dimensions—irrevocably flat—and peopled by a hierarchy of geometrical forms. In a Gulliver-like tour of his bizarre homeland, A. Square spins a fascinating tale of domestic drama and political turmoil, from sex among consenting triangles to the intentional subjugation of Flatland's females. He tells of visits to Lineland, the world of one dimension, and Pointland, the world of no dimension. But when A. Square dares to speak openly of a third, even a fourth dimension, his tragic fate climaxes a brilliant parody of Victorian society.

An underground favorite since its publication in England in 1884, Flatland is as prophetic a science-fiction classic as the works of H.G. Wells, introducing aspects of relativity and hyperspace years before Einstein's famous theories, and it does so with a wonderful, enduring enchantment.

SYNOPSIS

Classic of science (and mathematical) fiction--charmingly illustrated by the author--describes the adventures of A. Square.

FROM THE CRITICS

Asimov - The Forward

The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions.

Saturday Review

"This pre-Einstein geometrical fantasy is one of the best things of its kind that has ever been written, for it is more than an ingeniously sustained fantasy: it is a social satire, with wit as sharp as the sub-lutrous end of a Flatland woman; it is an easy philosophical introduction to the Fourth Dimension; and it is a rebuke to everyone who holds that there is no reality beyond what is perceptible by human senses."

Isaac Asimov - The Forward

The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions.

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