Very popular amongst mathematics, physics, and computer science students, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is an 1884 satirical novella by the English schoolmaster Edwin Abbott. Writing pseudonymously as "a square," Abbott used the fictional two-dimensional world of Flatland to offer pointed observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture. However, the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of dimensions; in a foreword to one of the many publications of the novella, noted science writer Isaac Asimov described Flatland as "The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions" Several films have been made from the story, including a feature film in 2007 called Flatland. Other efforts have been short or experimental films, including one narrated by Dudley Moore and a short film with Martin Sheen titled Flatland: The Movie.
An Early Science Fiction Novel that is still Educational and Enjoyable “Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines, Triangles, Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and other figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places, move freely about, on or in the surface, but without the power of rising above or sinking below it, very much like shadows—only hard with luminous edges—and you will then have a pretty correct notion of my country and countrymen. ” ― Edwin A. Abbott, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions Flatland by Edwin A. Abbot is a curious work of science and mathematical fiction. In the novel, the narrator named A. Square is a mathematician and resident of the two-dimensional Flatland. In Flatland, women are thin, straight lines (the lowliest of shapes), and men may have any number of sides, depending on their social status.
Classic of Science and Fiction, Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is a satirical novella by Edwin A. Abbot. Using the world of Flatland he makes observations on the social hierarchy of Victorian culture. Abbot's two-dimensional world is occupied by geometric figures, women are simple lines as men are polygons. Following a square as he tries to convince the monarch of a second dimension but fails to make him see beyond his flat realm. Traveling to Spaceland the square thinks of other possibilities beyond the third dimension.
Flatland, first published in 1884 is a unique combination of satirical comment on Victorian society and mathematical exploration of geometry and the first through fourth dimensions. A Square's journey through Pointland, Flatland, and Spaceland will give you a unique perspective on English society in the 1800s that stands on its own merit today.
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