Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

by Edwin Abbott

Overview

Full text.

This masterpiece of science (and mathematical) fiction is a delightfully unique and highly entertaining satire.

A work that continues to pose provocative questions about perception and reality, Flatland is a brilliant parody of Victorian society where all existence is limited to length and breadth - its inhabitants unable even to imagine a third dimension. The amiable narrator, A Square, provides an overview of this fantastic world - its physics and metaphysics, its history, customs and religious beliefs. But when a strange visitor mysteriously appears and transports the incredulous Flatlander to the Land of Three Dimensions, his world view is forever shattered.

Written more than a century ago, Flatland conceals within its brilliant parody of Victorian society speculations about the universe that resonate in Einstein's theory of relativity as well as the current 'string-theory' of nature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781977724991
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	09/27/2017
Pages:	174
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.37(d)

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I THIS WORLD 4

§ 1.—OF THE NATURE OF FLATLAND. 4

§ 2.—OF THE CLIMATE AND HOUSES IN FLATLAND. 5

§ 3.—CONCERNING THE INHABITANTS OF FLATLAND. 6

§ 4.—CONCERNING THE WOMEN. 8

§ 5.—OF OUR METHODS OF RECOGNIZING ONE ANOTHER. 10

§ 6.—OF RECOGNITION BY SIGHT. 12

§ 7.—OF IRREGULAR FIGURES. 14

§ 8.—OF THE ANCIENT PRACTICE OF PAINTING. 16

§ 9.—OF THE UNIVERSAL COLOR BILL. 17

§ 10.—OF THE SUPPRESSION OF THE CHROMATIC SEDITION. 19

§ 11.—CONCERNING OUR PRIESTS. 21

§ 12.—OF THE DOCTRINE OF OUR PRIESTS. 22

PART II OTHER WORLDS 25

§ 13.—HOW I HAD A VISION OF LINELAND. 25

§ 14.—HOW I VAINLY TRIED TO EXPLAIN THE NATURE OF FLATLAND. 27

§ 15.—CONCERNING A STRANGER FROM SPACELAND. 29

§ 16.—HOW THE STRANGER VAINLY ENDEAVORED TO REVEAL TO ME IN WORDS THE MYSTERIES OF SPACELAND. 31

§ 17.—HOW THE SPHERE, HAVING IN VAIN TRIED WORDS, RESORTED TO DEEDS. 34

§ 18.—HOW I CAME TO SPACELAND, AND WHAT I SAW THERE. 35

§ 19.—HOW, THOUGH THE SPHERE SHOWED ME OTHER MYSTERIES OF SPACELAND, I STILL DESIRED MORE; AND WHAT CAME OF IT. 38

§ 20.—HOW THE SPHERE ENCOURAGED ME IN A VISION. 41

§ 21.—HOW I TRIED TO TEACH THE THEORY OF THREE DIMENSIONS TO MY GRANDSON, AND WITH WHAT SUCCESS. 42

§ 22.—HOW I THEN TRIED TO DIFFUSE THE THEORY OF THREE DIMENSIONS BY OTHER MEANS, AND OF THE RESULT. 43

Editorial Reviews

"One of the most imaginative, delightful and, yes, touching works of mathematics, this slender 1884 book purports to be the memoir of A. Square, a citizen of an entirely two-dimensional world."--The Washington Post Book World

"Flatland has remained of interest for over a century precisely because of its ability to engage its readers on so many different planes in so many different dimensions."--Victorian Studies

"This reprint of Abbott's Flatland adventures contains an Introduction by Thomas Banchoff which is worth reading on its own. So if you don't have yet this book at home, go ahead and buy this edition."--Zentralblatt MATH

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