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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions Paperback - 2007

by Edwin A. Abbott

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Summary

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, though written in 1884, is still considered useful in thinking about multiple dimensions. It is also seen as a satirical depiction of Victorian society and its hierarchies.A square, who is a resident of the two-dimensional Flatland, dreams of the one-dimensional Lineland. He attempts to convince the monarch of Lineland of the possibility of another dimension, but the monarch cannot see outside the line. The square is then visited himself by a Sphere from three-dimensional Spaceland, who must show the square Spaceland before he can conceive it. As more dimensions enter the scene, the story's discussion of fixed thought and the kind of inhuman action which accompanies it intensifies.

Reader reviews for Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

From the publisher

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 occurrences 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." -- Mathematics Teacher.

Details

  • Title Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
  • Author Edwin A. Abbott
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition [ Edition: repri
  • Pages 96
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Dover Publications, Mineola, New York, U.S.A.
  • Publication date March 26, 2007
  • Illustrated Yes
  • ISBN 9780486272634 / 048627263X
  • Weight 0.18 lbs (0.08 kg)
  • Dimensions 8 x 5 x 0.3 in (20.32 x 12.70 x 0.76 cm)
  • Age range 14 to UP years
  • Grade levels 9 - UP
  • Reading level 1280
  • Category Literature - Classics / Criticism
  • Library of Congress subjects Fourth dimension
  • Library of Congress Catalogue Number 92018494
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

About the author

Fifty Years in the Flatland
2012 marked the 50th anniversary in print with Dover of one of the most significant and influential books of the past century and a half. The mathematical, satirical, and religious allegory Flatland by a little-known but immensely prolific Victorian English schoolmaster and theologian Edwin Abbott Abbott, was first published anonymously in England in 1884 -- Abbott wrote it under the name "A Square." The unique geometrical romance which is Flatland posited a world and its inhabitants that exist in only two dimensions and forces the reader captivated by the originality of this central idea to think deeply about the meaning of such a world. Generations of readers and students swept into the romance and fascination of geometry and other branches of mathematics and philosophy owe their introduction to this world to Flatland, which continues to entertain and stimulate new readers today, still going strong 126 years after the first edition was launched. Abbott revised the text somewhat for a second edition published just a few months after the first. Dover's 1952 edition was the first American reprinting of the amended second English edition and was published with a new Introduction by physicist Banesh Hoffmann.

From the Book:
"I CALL our world Flatland, not because we call it so, but to make its nature clearer to you, my happy readers, who are privileged to live in Space. 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 and with luminous edges -- and you will then have a pretty correct notion of my country and countrymen. Alas, a few years ago, I should have said 'my universe' but now my mind has been opened to higher views of things."

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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)
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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)

by Edwin A. Abbott

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Dover Publications, 9/21/1992 12:00:01 A. paperback. Good. 0.3543 in x 7.9528 in x 4.9606 in.
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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover Thrift Editions)
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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover Thrift Editions)

by Edwin A. Abbott

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Dover Publications, 1992-09-20. paperback. Poor. 5x0x7. Heavy wear, but still useable. A portion of your purchase of this book will be donated to non-profit organizations.Over 1,000,000 satisfied customers since 1997! Choose expedited shipping (if available) for much faster delivery. Delivery confirmation on all US orders.
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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover Thrift Editions)
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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover Thrift Editions)

by Edwin A. Abbott

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Flatland
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Flatland

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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)
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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)

by Edwin A. Abbott

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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover Thrift Editions)
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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover Thrift Editions)

by Edwin A. Abbott

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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

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Flatland : A Romance of Many Dimensions

Flatland : A Romance of Many Dimensions

by Edwin A. Abbott

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Dover Publications, Incorporated, 1992. Paperback. Good. Disclaimer:A copy that has been read, but remains in clean condition. All pages are intact, and the cover is intact. The spine may show signs of wear. Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include previous owner inscriptions. An ex-library book and may have standard library stamps and/or stickers. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.Dust jacket quality is not guaranteed.
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Flatland : A Romance of Many Dimensions

Flatland : A Romance of Many Dimensions

by Edwin A. Abbott

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Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

by Edwin A. Abbott

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