Edwin A. AbbottAnmeldelser

Interesting, but. As a thought experiment, kind of interesting, but oh, the sexism (and presumably racism, but I'm writing this review a long time after reading it, and I don't remember the story all that well).

I'm not sure why the subtitle contains the word 'romance'.
This book reminded me of Star Maker, but luckily Flatland is much shorter and consists of beautiful English prose. Flatland is a monologue describing an epiphany concerning the Nature of the Universe. I also see connections with thought experiments such as Plato's allegory of the cave. It invites the reader to extend the analogy to our own experience.
The tone of the narrator is scientific and slightly sad, which makes it (despite its short length) a bit of a heavy read. There's also a distopian tinge to the story.
The Flatland States are conservative and very woman-unfriendly. Can't tell if the writer is a bigot or a satirist. ;)

This is a fascinating little book. Written in the latish 19th century, it is a despatch from a very simple two-dimensional world by one of its inhabitants, the supposed author: A Square. The first part of the book simply describes the society of Flatland for the benefit of we three-dimensional creatures, its intended audience. The second describes how the square came to learn of our three-dimensional world, as well as other zero- and one-dimensional worlds, and his efforts to educate his fellow bi-dimensional fellows about the higher dimensions.

Both sections are very different (the first has little plot, and more of the maths; the second is much more philosophical), but both are packed with allusions and layers of meaning. For example, the society shows antediluvian, barely qualified, attitudes to women and class - this is a little off-putting initially, until it becomes clear that this is social satire, of a Swiftian level. In describing his attempts to educate people about the higher-dimensions, Abbott is explicitly imploring the reader to be open-minded about radical abstract ideas, by way of making us consider that there are higher-dimensions of which we are not aware. And ultimately the story contains elements of traditional tragedy, of transformation - apotheosis even - and of attaining knowledge from a state of ignorance and of the resultant fall from grace.

On top of that, the book is crammed with references to Shakespeare and the classics. (And through all that it is written in beguilingly simple language (although in a slightly archaic style - even for the 19th century - to give it a timeless quality).

It is a deceptively simple, towering achievement.

This edition in particular is to be recommended. I found the notes on the maths, and Abbott's literary references very useful (although the ones explaining some of the language far less so). And almost more fascinating than Abbott's fable of abstract thought is the man that emerges in the other material in the book.

From the main text you discern a clever, thorough, drily witty and whimsical man; and the basic notes clearly illustrate through their detailing of classical and literary allusions, a highly - and widely - learned man; but that barely scratches the many surfaces of Abbott. Fortunately there is considerable back material in the appendices to fill in some of the detail. His accomplishments include

Legendary headmaster (Prime Minister Asquith attended the City of London School while Abbott was in charge)
An award-winning Cambridge scholar (top in his year in Classics)
A renowned preacher
A bible scholar and leading progressive thinker on the non-miraculous Jesus (reminiscent of Thomas Jefferson's 'The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazare')
Shakespearean scholar
A biographer and critic of Cardinal Newman
Educational reformer (an early proponent of formal teacher training; promoting teaching for lower classes)
Active Proponent of women's education and suffrage
Admiree (reciprocated) of George Eliot
Author of numerous books and essays, on a range of topics encompassing most of the above

And, of course, a writer of whimsical mathematical fiction, which - along with beautifully communicated (and occasionally entertainingly illustrated) higher mathematical concepts - incorporates existentialism, social criticism, and a plea for scientific rigour and open-mindedness.

I have a new hero.

Delightful and thought-provoking for a twelve-year-old. One of those classic books from which everyone can absorb deep and lasting ideas.

This was pretty amazing. 1800 style writing and talking geometry, what is not to like? Ultimately the readability suffers under these two characteristics, but Abott wrote a pretty interesting short story regardless. For anyone who doesn't want to go through 80 pages of "doths" and "thy's" I cannot recommend the 2007 Ehlinger movie Flatland enough.

Probably quite revolutionary for its time, but if issues of classism and sexism bother you, then you may find this book irritating. Doesn't take much time to read, though, so if nothing else, it prompts an interesting thought exercise about the possibility of conceiving ideas that one doesn't actually have the senses to view.

He is a square and lives in a two dimensional world, called Flatland.
In their land:
Women are straight lines.
Soldiers and the lowest classes of workmen are Triangles with two equal sides.
Middle class consists of Equilateral or Equal-Sided Triangles.
Professional men and gentlemen are Squares.
I am wondering how these creatures can recognize each other in a two dimensional world that everything seems as a straight line!!! Have they ever imagined a three dimensional world?

To think that this was written in 1884! One has to wonder if Einstein read this story and what he thought of it.

El país de 'Planilandia', como nuestro propio mundo, está a punto de iniciar el milenio. El último día del año 1999, un cuadrado – hasta aquel momento indistinguible de las otras formas de este universo de dos dimensiones – recibe el Evangelio del las Tres Dimensiones, que se revela a los planos habitantes de ese mundo sólo una vez cada mil años.
Transformado por una verdad que es incapaz de ocultar, es condenado inmediatamente como hereje.
Su conmovedor relato es en sí una creación multidimensional, pues no sólo supone un desafío a nuestras percepciones más básicas de la realidad cotidiana, sino que también es una aguda sátira social, así como un
clarificador tratado matemático.

Satire. I need to check some annotations on this one.

Very good introduction to thinking about space and dimensions. Should be mandatory reading at school. Except for the sexism and classism. It's supposed to be on purpose, a parody of victorian politics, but as all products of its time, it's likely the writer shared some of those prejudices, at least in part.

Also gave me a good idea of how to find the freaking fourth dimension .D

Every time I even though about picking up this book, I was immediately distracted by some other form of media (TV, phone, other book). It's very cerebral and definitely and older style of writing for which I am not currently in the mood.

A classic, and for a good reason. I understood it in junior high, have enjoyed it more than once since.

More than just an amusing read for anyone interested in math, geometry and physics, this somewhat dry but ultimately funny book is an exploration of the limits of reason, perception, and knowledge, along with social commentary on how such things can shape a society. It explains the math and science aspects of its topic (multiple dimensions), but also touches on issues of philosophy, politics, social class, and religion. While I never found it boring, the writing does get quite dry at times, and readers who aren't interested in math may struggle a little, but it's definitely worth it.

This book got me hooked on thinking about higher dimensions and why we seem to be stuck in three of them.

I enjoyed rereading Flatland, and I go to Great St Mary's church, so when I found out Abbott had a book of the sermons he'd preached at GSM, I thought it would be interesting to pick up a copy and read it.

It is so very very Victorian. It is right in the middle of wrestling with 'oh, evolution! Can we still believe in God and evolution?'

And very interesting in a study of how the things people used to be able to say wholeheartedly now sit awkwardly with us (which makes you start to wonder, which things do we accept as good that we will cringe at in another 100 years time?) It is stirring to hear someone talk about Goodness and Beauty and Love. Concepts like 'Mankind as the pinnacle of evolution', and 'the need to improve the social condition of the poorer classes' feel complicated to our modern ears. And the whole digression about whether it's OK to pray for the dead feels like being in the middle of an argument you weren't actually having in the first place now!

4/20/22

Having reviewed Flatland itself separately, what did I make of the Annotated Flatland?

I think the main problem is that I am not the intended audience for the annotations- I have a masters level degree in mathematics, and Stewart is writing for a lay audience. Another problem is that Abbott was a truly superb teacher. The combination of these two things leaves many of the annotations feeling clunky and superflous - Abbott will give an elegant explanation of something, and then Stewart will pop up in the margins and explain it again, more ponderously.

I did enjoy bits of it though. I had not known that Abbott was a clergyman, which was another angle to view the book through. Nor did I know he was sort of responsible for the existence of the Salvation Army, by being William Booth's inspirational teacher. And I'd never spotted that Abbott had amusingly labeled the vertices of the roof ROF.½

I hadn't read this thin mathematical dystopia for many years, and it was fun to come back to it. It weaves together ideas of strict pre-determined class systems, huge gender inequalities, a brutal state, and how to visualise extra dimensions. Enjoyed again.½

Die Idee dahinter ist hervorragend - der literarische Weg dagegen leider eher holprig.

A satire of Victorian cultural norms, it's the story of a denizen of a two dimensional world, a square by the name A. Square. The first half skewers the class system and the deplorable condition of women. Going into this book, I thought it was only a satire of the class system, so I initially believed the misogyny was merely background noise. After a few pages though, it became so outrageous that I realized it was also satirical. Bravo, M Abbot. At the end there's some stuff about art, science, and individual expression, but I'm not sure how successful that was/is.
The second half concerns A Square's dream of a one dimensional world, and a forced journey to 3D world wherein he can see the nature of his own world. This forms the background into some pointed questions about political authority and religious veracity, especially when Square attempts to get a 3D Sphere to contemplate a 4th dimension. It's a bit forced, and is less satire and more questioning, but I think it still works.
4 stars oc, 3.5 for the book, and an extra .5 because my copy smells fantastic.

A strange book, is it science fiction, a math book or someone's bad dream? Or maybe all three? In Flatland there are only two dimensions. The narrator, a Flatlander, is visited by a foreigner from the lands of three dimensions who tells him there is more to the universe than what he and all Flatlanders believe to be everything. In Flatland there are people, they are of course flat, the men are figures and the women are lines. Sounds sexist, it is a very old book written in another time. The male figures have status based on the number of sides and angles in their shape. A triangle is on the bottom, the highest status figures have so many angles that they are nearly circles. These are the kings and priests of flatland. Our narrator has a dream where he is transported to a land of one dimension, a land of lines, Lineland, then he goes to another dimension, a land of no dimensions, Pointland. I heard about this book in high school. A friend was reading it, I think as an extra credit assignment for a math class. He was in a high level math than I was. It didn't interest me at the time. I would say this is really a math book. It is all about Geometry and other math concepts. It is very hard to try to imagine a two dimensional world. Perhaps that is the point of the book.

Reread:
Yeah i still like it. Few other works cause you to contemplate the nature of reality more and with the Holographic Theory gaining ground in physics this is as appropriate today as it ever was, whether read as a dystopia, social satire or scientific thesise :) .

1st Read: I really liked this, not sure if it was supposed to be but i found it quite hilarious in places. For weeks after i read this whenever i saw a triangle painted on the road (thats something they do here not sure why) i found myself smiling. What better recommendation could there be.

A bit of a mind bender and an interesting read.

I don't remember how I stumbled across Flatland for the category A Book With Non-Human Characters—most search results list books with animals—but I'm glad I did. The first-person narrator of Edwin A. Abbott's short novel first explains the physical mechanics and societal organization of his two-dimensional space, which he calls Flatland for his readers' benefit, then relays his "personal" story of leaving Flatland for the three-dimensional world with the assistance of an alien visitor, Sphere. The quotes around the word personal reflect the fact that our narrator is a square, rather than a human, who occupies the respectable position of attorney due to his four sides. In Flatland, the more sides an individual has, the higher his position in society. Sphere has a third dimension previously unknown and unimagined in two-dimensional Flatland, a dimension which confers status far beyond that of any shape living in Flatland. Eventually, the square comes to treat Sphere as a god.

In some ways Flatland is reflective of its time (1884) and place (England). Flatland is a patriarchal society, where women are the simplest geometric shape (straight lines) and are restricted from education. It's telling that, when viewed head-on, women are essentially invisible. Owing to the sharpness of their terminal ends, they are also extremely dangerous physically to the other inhabitants of Flatland and are required to emit a Peace-cry to warn those around them of their presence. The highest societal position is that of Priests, who are circles.

In other ways, it is still relatable decades after its initial publication. The conflict between the various shapes is analogous to today's world. The upper shapes look down on and use the lower shapes for their own benefit. The lower shapes resent the upper shapes. Their attempt to overthrow the societal hierarchy employs color, rather than weapons, to eliminate the cognitive differences between the shapes.

Flatland is an interesting thought experiment about the universality of human nature, regardless of physical reality.½