The annotated flatland: a romance of many dimensions

Presents Abbott's examination of the concepts of space, time, and dimension, along with commentary about the work. The First-ever Annotated Edition Of The Beloved Classic Is Beautifully Illustrated And Brilliantly Brought To Life For A New Generation Of Readers. Published In 1884 By An English Clergyman And Headmaster, It Is A Fanciful Tale Of A. Square, A Two-dimensional Being Visiting A Three-dimensional World. Pt. 1. This World -- 1. Of The Nature Of Flatland -- 2. Of The Climate And Houses In Flatland -- 3. Concerning The Inhabitants Of Flatland -- 4. Concerning The Women -- 5. Of Our Methods Of Recognizing One Another -- 6. Of Recognition By Sight -- 7. Concerning Irregular Figures -- 8. Of The Ancient Practice Of Painting -- 9. Of The Universal Colour Bill -- 10. Of The Suppression Of The Chromatic Sedition -- 11. Concerning Our Priests -- 12. Of The Doctrine Of Our Priests -- Pt. 2. Other Worlds -- 13. How I Had A Vision Of Lineland -- 14. How I Vainly Tried To Explain The Nature Of Flatland -- 15. Concerning A Stranger From Spaceland -- 16. How The Stranger Vainly Endeavoured To Reveal To Me In Words The Mysteries Of Spaceland -- 17. How The Sphere, Having In Vain Tried Works, Resorted To Deeds -- 18. How I Came To Spaceland, And What I Saw There -- 19. How, Though The Sphere Shewed Me Other Mysteries Of Spaceland, I Still Desired More; And What Came Of It -- 20. How The Sphere Encouraged Me In A Vision -- 21. How I Tried To Teach The Theory Of Three Dimensions To My Grandson, And With What Success -- 22. How I Then Tried To Diffuse The Theory Of Three Dimensions By Other Means, And Of The Result -- The Fourth Dimension In Mathematics. By Edwin A. Abbott ; Introduction And Notes By Ian Stewart. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 231-239). "Flatland is a unique, delightful satire that has charmed readers for over a century. Published in 1884 by the English clergyman and headmaster Edwin A. Abbott, it is the fanciful tale of A. Square, a two-dimensional being who is whisked away by a mysterious visitor to The Land of Three Dimensions, an experience that forever alters his worldview. By contemplating the notion of dimensions beyond their own, Abbott's Victorian readers were exposed to the then-radical idea of a fourth dimension - preparing them for Einstein's spectacular theories of relativity". "Like the original, Ian Stewart's commentary takes readers on a strange and wonderful journey. With clarity and wit, Stewart illuminates Abbott's numerous Victorian references, weaves in little known biographical information about Abbott and his intellectual circle - elucidating Abbott's remarkable connections to H. G. Wells and the mathematician George Boole - and traced the scientific evolution of geometric forms and dimensions.". "In addition, Stewart provides an extensive bibliography of Abbott's work and that of Charles Howard Hinton, whose wild but ingenious speculations about the fourth dimension undoubtedly inspired Abbott's fable."--BOOK JACKET. 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. Spoken by Horatio, in William Shakespeare's Hamlet, act 1, scene 5, line 164. Hamlet has just been conversing with his father's ghost, who is now speaking from under the stage.