Flatland/Sphereland: A Witty Classic of British Letters and Victorian Society Satire (Everyday Handbook)

FlatlandReview Flatland is an interesting book that gives the view of how shapes are made and if we lived in a 2D world it gives a good description of how we could identify each other. It also gives a view of the Victorian England era. There are strict division of social classes which is shown through geometric objects. The lowest form, which have no dimensions, meaning they are a straight line are women. They also have to continually make sounds so they do not destroy the men. Once you get past how the society works you get to story of how The Square learns about multiple dimensions. What I find interesting with his narrative, is that it is very hypocritical. The Square goes down to 1D and talks to the king of Lineland and tries to convince him that there is more dimensions than his own, but the king rejects it. Then the Sphere comes down from 3D land or “Sphereland” to 2D and comes to talk to The Square about another dimension. The square rejects it at first and then is physically shown the 3D world. Then The Square brings up the fact that there may be a 4D land. The Sphere rejects and gets mad at The Square and puts him back down to his land in Flatland. The Square had seen all three dimensions, so he was more willing to accept the fact that there was more out there, someone above 3D. The Sphere did not want to accept that. So the reader is seeing how scientist viewed other things at the time and scientist were not that willing at the time to accept change. So once you get past how the society works, the story line gets interesting and involved.Sphereland This book is by a different Author than Flatland. Dionys Burger does a good job at the beginning to summarize what happened in Flatland. From there she picks up the story for The Squares grandson. It goes on his adventure of becoming friends with someone who discovered a triangle that has the sum of the angles that is more than 180 degrees. Which they thought to be impossible. It goes through how they become to meet The Sphere from Sphereland and how they overcome the trials of proving that there indeed exists a triangle that has the angle sum that exceeds 180 degrees. This is almost the same as Flatland though in the pursuit that the angle sum of a triangle is more than 180 degrees. The people of Flatland do not believe them and discreted the grandson of The Square. They get visited the The Sphere, but they are planned visits on the New Year every year. The main difference through is that Flatland is no longer flat. Two squares head on a journey in opposite directions and meet each other at the other side of the world. It also brings in how the culture has changed throughout the history. Women are not reveried anymore and some are even pursuing educations. Scientist are not as stubborn as they were before. When The Squares grandson and his friend tries to present their theory that there is an angle sum more than 180 degrees one scientist does mention that it could happen because the light waves may not be straight. This story is a good progression in that it brings in more characters and more dialogue. It helps move the story along. This is a good book to help students and those around you understand how science has evolved through time and easily explains the dimensions of geometry.

If you are not familiar with Edwin Abbott's "Flatland", this is the edition to buy. If you are familiar with it (but presumably do not yet own it), this is still the edition to buy.You've heard the classic criticism of a story is that it is "two dimensional". Well, Edwin Abbott's tale of an imaginary two-dimensional land adds a whole new twist to that phrase. Flatland, as he describes it, is about as rich as a two-dimensional story can be. And it is marvelously extended by its narrator's encounters with the unknown - the world of 3 dimensions. The challenges that narrator faces as he encounters the incomprehensible, quite closely mirror mine whenever I attempt to think about a 4th (or 5th or 7th) dimension. If you've faced the same struggle, you will be delighted by this book.If you've ever wondered what a 4th dimension would look like, Flatland provides a lens through which you can imagine that extension of our 3D world. From here you can go on to read Rudy Rucker or Pickover or Hawkins - but this is the place to start your exploration of dimensions beyond experience. Abbot accomplishes this by describing the eye-opening extension of his narrator's 2D world when visited by a 3D apparition, a "sphere". His framing of the foundational issues through the experiences of what you'd expect to be the least interesting character in fiction are really quite engaging. The storyline, however sparse, is as interesting as the mathematics - albeit quite nineteenth-century'ish in tone.Don't misconstrue Abbott's seemingly misogynist portrayal of women and of his class-stratified society. This element was intended to provide a third layer of sharp, Swiftian satire and critical commentary on the rigid social mores of his era. Abbot succeeds in this (but I, nevertheless, decided not to read it aloud to my 6th grade classes - worrying that they might not be attuned to this subtlety of tone.) Be forewarned.The neat twist of this edition, the inclusion of Dionys Burger's 1983 "Sphereland", as an upside-down "second book", is quite a nice touch. Although I did not find Burger's stylings quite as engaging as those of Abbott, his extension of the mathematical ideas into non-Euclidian spaces is a nice introduction to that idea for non-mathematicians. Since it was intended as a standalone book, "Sphereland" commences with a detailed review of the "Flatland" story. This can be skipped without loss but is not a substitute for reading the original "Flatland", here, first.Flatland is a timeless classic; a great book for the mathematician and non-mathematician alike.

Fantastic trip into one, two and three dimensional worlds in a story told by a Victorian mathematician. Gave me so much food for thought on the nature of dimensional existence. Still has me pondering what a four and five dimensional universe would be like. Incorporates the voice, mood and social shortcomings of the era in which it was written, in a very ironic way. It's a quick read and well worth it for anyone with a passing interest in geometry or Victorian writing, or one who likes to ponder the nature of the universe. It also has two more follow up novels by other authors on the same theme, Flatterland and Sphereland. Reading those next.

This was always my favorite book as a kid, plus you get two books in one! This is my second copy - my other copy was stolen by a friend’s kid. I gave it to him after he apologized. Great gift for anyone interested in higher dimensions.

This is a must read for anyone. Its written simply for anyone to understand yet the underlying principles can inspire thought and contemplation on the ideas of relativity and perspective. On the surface this book explores dimensions but it provokes thought about perspective and encourages you to evaluate your own perspectives. You can get anywhere from mild amusement from this book to philosophical life changing perspectives.In detail, Flatland is a classic story about a two dimensional square that discovers the world of a line, a point, a sphere and beyond. The square contemplates his role in society as a square and realizes that there is something else out there when a sphere comes to visit.

Very pleased, well packaged, arrived early and exactly as described.

Está muy bien la idea de tener el clásico de Abbott y su continuación actual juntos en un mismo volumen.