Book Report: Flatland

Edwin A. Abbott's Flatland is intriguing, enormously influential, and refreshingly simple. It is also much overlooked.

A person would enjoy this book if they once studied star-slugged skies as youth, or cheered on the Fantastic Four versus Dr. Doom, or -- as the Introduction puts it best -- if you: "...are young at heart and the sense of wonder still stirs within you, [beat] YOU WILL READ WITHOUT PAUSE." [Shouting not in original.] So read it.

It is a still-studied mathematics of the fourth dimension and pre-dated Einstein. It is a satiric comedy, and a religious parable.

It has social themes sharpening Orwell's 1984

It was published in 1884.

Abbott was an English schoolmaster, and basically a regular Dumbledore*. Straight out of Rowling. In Flatland we, as readers, become the Potters and learn from a legend.

Its alarmingly brief -- about 100 pages -- divided into "1. This World" and "2. Other Worlds."

It is the story of a two-dimensional [hence Flatland] square and all the social implications of living in the 2nd dimension. Of course, this social structure collapses upon encountering the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and so on dimensions.

Surprisingly, as I read it, all I can think is how relevant it is in contemporary culture.

Check it out. You will be entertained. And challenged.

PS: There've also been a few attempts at turning it into a film. I was going to embed them, but they look prrretty lame. Check them out on youtube if you're interested.

*just read his wikipedia article.