Flatland: Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions is a novel by Edwin E. Abbott , published in 1884 . This science fiction novel is considered useful for people studying, for example, the concepts of other spatial dimensions or hyperspaces . As a literary work, the novel is valued because of satire on the social hierarchy of Victorian society. Isaac Asimov, in the preface to one of the many publications of the novel, wrote that this is “the best introduction to the way of perceiving measurements that can be found.”
| Flatland | |
|---|---|
| Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions | |
 Sixth Edition Cover | |
| Genre | Novel |
| Author | Edwin Abbott Abbott |
| Original language | English |
| Date of writing | 1884 year |
| Date of first publication | |
Several films were shot from this book, including the 2007 feature film of the same name, known in Russia as the Flat World . Other attempts were short or experimental films, including the Dudley Moore film, as well as another film with Martin Sheen .
The translation of Flatland into Russian was published in 1976 [1] .
Content
- 1 Contents
- 2 Social hierarchy
- 3 Spherland
- 4 See also
- 5 notes
- 6 Literature
- 7 References
Contents
The novel takes place in a two-dimensional world called Flatland [2] . An unnamed narrator , a modest square (a social group of gentlemen in Flatland), shows the reader various spheres of life in two dimensions [3] . The square sees a dream about visiting the one-dimensional world (Lainlandia), and tries to prove to the ignorant monarch of Lainlandia the existence of a second dimension, but finds that it is impossible to force him to look beyond his eternally straight line.
Then the narrator is visited by a three-dimensional sphere , the essence of which he cannot comprehend until he sees the Space with his own eyes. This area, which remains nameless, visits Flatland at the beginning of each millennium (according to the Flatland calendar, the year 2000 has just come) to acquaint the new apostle Flatland with the third dimension, in the hope, ultimately, of convincing the population of Flatland of the existence of the Three-Dimensional Space. From the safety of Space, the Sphere and Square can secretly watch the leaders of Flatland, who at the meeting of the High Council secretly recognize the existence of the sphere and order the pacification of any Flatland who will preach the truth about Space and the third dimension. After it was proclaimed, many of the witnesses were ordered to imprison or execute.
After the Square begins to clearly present a new dimension to it, he tries to convince the Sphere of the theoretical possibility of the existence of a fourth (as well as fifth, sixth, etc.) spatial dimension. The Three-Dimensional Sphere, offended by this hypothesis, returns its student back to Flatland, in disgrace.
Then the Square dreams that the Sphere visits him again in order to introduce him to Pointland. The point (the only inhabitant, the monarch and the Universe , all in one) represents any attempt to communicate with him, as his own thought in his Almighty mind. (see Solipsism )
The square recognizes the connection between the ignorance of the monarchs of Pointland and Lainland with their own previous ignorance, as well as the ignorance of the Sphere, while denying the existence of other dimensions. When Square returned to Flatland, it was incredibly difficult to convince anyone that there was a Three-Dimensional Space, especially after officials said that anyone who preaches the “three-dimensional lie” will be imprisoned for life (or executed , depending on status in society). As a result, Square is sent to prison precisely for this reason, from where he leads the story.
Social Hierarchy
The position of the individual on the social ladder of Flatland depends on the number of angles of this individual. All angles must be correct. Thus, at the bottom step are women, who are extremely flattened parallelograms, as a result of which they look like one-dimensional segments of straight lines. Next are isosceles triangles having one acute angle and being soldiers of this world. The hierarchy is continued by equilateral triangles, squares, pentagons, hexagons, etc., occupying an increasingly high position in society, up to (almost) circles having a huge number of corners and located at the top posts of the country.
Sferlandia
Inspired by Flatland, the Dutch mathematician Dionysus Burger (1892-1987) wrote a sequel - the novel " Sferlandia ".
See also
- Parallel World (fiction)
- Solipsism
- Geometry
- Maths
- Flat earth
- Flat world
Notes
Literature
- Liza Marz Harper. Flatland in Popular Culture // Mathematics in Popular Culture: Essays on Appearances in Film, Fiction, Games, Television and Other Media / Jessica K. Sklar, Elizabeth S. Sklar. - McFarland, 2012 .-- S. 288-303. - 353 p. - ISBN 978-0-7864-4978-1 .
- Chris Pak Discovering a Higher Plane. Dimensionality and Enlightenment in Flatland and Diaspora // Mathematics in Popular Culture: Essays on Appearances in Film, Fiction, Games, Television and Other Media / Jessica K. Sklar, Elizabeth S. Sklar. - McFarland, 2012 .-- S. 304-313. - 353 p. - ISBN 978-0-7864-4978-1 .