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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin A. Abbott

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Description

A Masterpiece of Classic Science Fiction:Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is a satirical novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott Abbott, first published in 1884. Written pseudonymously by "A Square",the book used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to comment on the hierarchy of Victorian culture, but the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions.Physicists and science popularizers Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking have both commented on and postulated about the effects of Flatland. Sagan recreates the thought experiment as a set-up to discussing the possibilities of higher dimensions of the physical universe in both the book and television series Cosmos, whereas Hawking notes the peculiarity of life in two-dimensional space.A Must Read Classic for Lovers of Science Fiction! Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Independently published (April 8, 2020)


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Paperback ‏ : ‎ 97 pages


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 15


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 5.6 ounces


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.25 x 9 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #15,241 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #279 in Dystopian Fiction (Books)


#279 in Dystopian Fiction (Books):


Customer Reviews: 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 508 ratings


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Trippy thinking about 4D
Great at explaining why it is so hard for people of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints have difficulty explaining the Holy Ghost (ie the higher dimension). However very sexist towards women and this is coming from a tradwife. I would probably have gotten offended if I wasn’t confident in my achievements and intellect but I just ended up laughing at its ridiculousness instead. The last few chapters make the rest of the book (which is pure exposition tbh) sooooo worth it! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 2, 2024 by Anna K
    • Classic
A classic reading for classic teaching and learning.
Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2023 by Paschich
    • Entertaining and Thought Provoking
This is a very easy read and simplistic way of describing the relationship between different dimensions. Definitely has made it way into my list of favorite books and it’s short enough to be finished in a day.
Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2023 by Gabrielle
    • Love the book so much!
I’ve known of the book for quite awhile and I’ve been wanting to read it for so long and finally have! The story is great and I love the mathematical inserts within the tale and the quality of the book itself is great!
Reviewed in the United States on September 14, 2023 by Jozlyn
    • Upward, not Northward!
A review of Edwin A. Abbott’s “Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions” “Flatland” is first and foremost a geometry maths book. I first read this book as a pre-teen kid, having read the colourfully illustrated “The Number Devil” maths book shortly before. With “Flatland,” rudimentary concepts about space and its dimensions still stick with me today. I vividly remember the short commentary on shadows. Shadows remove one dimension such that the shadow of a 1D line is a 0D point, the shadow of a 2D shape is a 1D line, the shadow of a 3D solid is a 2D shape, and thus it follows that the shadow of a 4D something is a 3D solid! Another thing that I markedly remember was its blatant sexism -- women exist as one lesser dimension, i.e. as a 1D line in the world of 2D shapes. Ten years later I decide to return to this story to see if I have any new thoughts. First, this book is just as sexist as I remembered it. Actually, it is probably more sexist since I now understand the derogatory implications better. As for the maths part, I didn’t really receive any new insights from it, but I think that’s a good thing. This only shows how thought-provoking and paradigm-shifting this book is on its first read. The ideas of this book are two-fold. The first part does some worldbuilding with Flatland, while the second part does the mathematical exploration with dimensions. The book is written clearly in layman terms, with helpful analogies and clean illustrations along the way. For the first part, I enjoyed the set-up of Flatland and especially how they see and navigate. Since all the inhabitants of Flatland live on a plane, they can only see other shapes represented as a line. This concept makes a lot of sense, but it isn’t something that we would think of intuitively. In addition to that, there is also some fun worldbuilding with the architecture and art of flatland, their social hierarchy, their laws, and their women. To the modern reader, the discussion of the latter is probably very jarring. This book is very clearly sexist in a harsh, matter-of-fact way. Some people might say that this book, and therefore its treatment of women, is merely a critique of Victorian society, but I think that’s not an honest assessment. For example, in later parts of the book where women are no longer being discussed, Abbott makes offhand comments like “this concept is so simple that even a woman can understand it.” The only thing I can say about this is that it’s important that we understand this book as a product of its time and move on. The second part is the most interesting part. The 0D, 1D, 2D, 3D, and 4D dimensions are discussed here. The main character (a square) has a dream about Lineland, where everyone is just a line. But since they live on a singular line, they can only see each other as points without length. Only the square, of higher dimension, is able to see them as lines. Later, a sphere would visit the square and he likewise comments that he is able to see the square as a shape instead of as just a line. My favourite interaction is the discussion on the “insides” of a dimensional object. Here, the square asks the sphere “how is it that we can now see the flatland citizen’s insides,” to which he means the plane of the 2D shape. The sphere responds that it is because they are of a higher dimension and can look down on to see the shape. Then, the square responds that a 4D being would likewise be able to see the insides of the sphere. How interesting! All of the concepts of dimensions here are laid out in purely factual terms, which provoke the imagination. What kind of 4D object could possibly see the insides of a 3D solid? And what would the insides even look like? ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 30, 2023 by I love my dog
    • Geometry
This book is a lot to get through. Having said that, it was such
Reviewed in the United States on October 9, 2023 by Joe Mesa
    • Quick read- a trip to another land will stretch your mind. Highly Recommend!
Considering this was written more than 100 years ago, it was surprisingly enlightening! I loved how it drew parcels to people I know.
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2023 by Jeanie
    • a very special book
This is a very special book, but it is certainly not for everyone. This is for the fan of philosophy and science. It approaches the topic of dimensions in clever and thoughtful way. While simple on the face of it, it took highly intelligent mind to create this little timeless gem. I first read it probably 25 years ago, and was prompted to re-read it after reading "The God Equation," a book about string theory. "The God Equation's" discussion of multiple dimensions made me think back to this wonderful book written so long ago. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on April 12, 2022 by Mark W. Watkins

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