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The Annotated Flatland:

a romance of many dimensions
Front Cover
24 Reviews
Da Capo Press, 2002 - Science - 239 pages
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 book itself, 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 traces 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. Touching on such diverse topics as ancient Babylon, Karl Marx, the Indian Mutiny of 1857, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the Gregorian calendar, Mount Everest, and phrenology, Stewart makes fascinating connections between Flatland and Edwin A. Abbott's life and times. The result is a classic to rival Abbott's own, and a book that will inspire and delight curious readers for generations to come.

  

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Review: The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

User Review  - Steve - Goodreads

I give Flatlands five stars for creativity and applicability as a metaphor for other areas of life. It's a romance in the old sense of heroic narrative, not love story. The annotations add another dimension to a simple but clever book. Read full review

Review: The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

User Review  - Christine Sharbrough - Goodreads

so than I am. The annotations helped a great deal to explain what the author was trying to say. Some paragraphs, no matter how well annotated, were beyond my comprehension. VERDICT: Even math majors ... Read full review

All 24 reviews »

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Contents

THE ANNOTATED FLATLAND
1
Introduction by illiam Garnett
9
Preface to the Second and Revised Edition 1884 bythe Editor
21
THIS WORl D
29
Of the Nature of Flatland
33
Of the Climate and Houses in Flatland
38
Concerning the Inhabitants of Flatland
43
Concerning the Women
49
Of the Suppression of the Chromatic Sedition
90
Concerning our Priests
97
Of the Doctrine of our Priests
101
OTHER K ORl DS
111
How I had a Vision of Lineland
113
How I vainly tried to explain the nature of Flatland
121
of Flatland1
125
Concerning a Stranger from Spaceland
129

Of our Methods of Recognizing one another
57
Of Recognition by Sight
65
Concerning Irregular Figures
73
Of the Ancient Practice of Painting
79
Of the Universal Colour Bill
84
Of the Universal Colour Bill
88
How the Stranger vainly endeavoured to reveal to me in words the mysteries of Spaceland
136
How the Sphere having in vain tried words resorted to deeds
149
In the first edition this is 14 How in my Vision I endeavoured to explain the nature of Ratland but could not
165
The Fourth Dimension in Mathematics
203
Bibliography of Edwin Abbott Abbott
231
Copyright

Other editions - View all

The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

Limited preview - 2008
The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
Edwin Abbott Abbott
No preview available - 2002
The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
Edwin Abbott Abbott,Ian Stewart
No preview available - 2008

Common terms and phrases

Abbott algebra analogy angles appear Boole brain cellular automaton century Circle City of London color complex numbers concepts coordinates creatures cube developed dimensional Discworld edition Edwin Abbott Abbott equations equilateral Euclid's Euclidean example existence feel females Figure Fladand Flat Flatland Flatterland four four-dimensional fourth dimension Gauss George Boole Hexagon Hinton human hypercube idea inches infinite inside Irregular Isosceles land later light Lineland logical London School male mathe mathematicians mathematics matics means mensional motion moving Nature non-Euclidean geometry Northward object once Parallel Axiom Pentagon physical physicist plane polygons problem quaternions Ratland readers real numbers regular rotation Rudy Rucker sense sequence sides Sight Recognition sional sions solid space-time Spaceland Sphere spherical geometry square root Square's story straight line Stranger surface symmetries theorem theory things third dimension three dimensions three-dimensional space tion triangle two-dimensional universe Victorian visual voice Woman Women words

References to this book

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From Google Scholar

Beyond
Higher Dimensions, Parallel Universes
Flatland: An Analogy between Mathematics and Physics
Karin Reich - Science & Education
La Representation Cognitive Du Temps Et De L’espace: Etude ...
Professeurs Anne Reboul, Jacques Moeschler, Directeurs Professeur Ira Noveck, Nicholas Asher ...
Synonyms, Antonyms or the Perfect Amalgam?
BHARATH SRIRAMAN BHARATH SRIRAMAN

References from web pages

Barnes & Noble.com - Books: The Annotated Flatland, by Edwin ...
The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, Abbott, Edwin Abbott Abbott, Hardcover, 1, Book, ISBN: 0738205419, Science, Barnes & Noble.com.
search.barnesandnoble.com/ The-Annotated-Flatland/ Edwin-Abbott-Abbott/ e/ 9780738205410

Flatland
A typical Flatland house "[The universe] is written in the language of mathematics, and its characters are triangles, circles, and other geometric figures. ...
www.calormen.com/ Flatland/

Flatterland NOW IN PAPERBACK cover image In 1884, in Victorian ...
Flatterland. NOW IN PAPERBACK. cover image. In 1884, in Victorian England, a headmaster and Shakespearean scholar named Edwin Abbott Abbott wrote a classic ...
members.aol.com/ istewjoat/ flatterland.html

Villainy, Inc. | Maryland Public Television
The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott Abbott, introduction by Ian Stewart Perseus Publishing [December 4, 2001] ...
villainyinc.thinkport.org/ families/ books_experiencedreaders.asp

Math Digest
"The World Is Broad and Wide": Review of The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, by Edwin A. Abbott. Reviewed by Peter Renz. ...
www.ams.org/ mathmedia/ mathdigest/ 200205-flat.html

Kolmogorov Library Wish List
Edwin A. Abbott The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Introduction and notes by Ian Stewart) ABBOTT: The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of ...
www.kolmogorov.com/ libwish.html

biggerbooks.com – Discount Bookstore. Bestsellers, New Books, Used ...
In The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, Ian Stewart (Does God Play Dice?) introduces and explains Edwin A. Abbott's 1884 math-geek classic. ...
www.biggerbooks.com/ book/ 9780738205410

The Mathematical Tourist - Flatland: The Movies
The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions, with introduction and notes by Ian Stewart. Cambridge, Mass.: Perseus. ______. 1992. ...
www.maa.org/ mathtourist/ mathtourist_04_09_07.html

Ciência Hoje On-line
O próprio Flatland tem uma edição comentada e anotada por Ian Stewart, chamada The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions. ...
cienciahoje.uol.com.br/ 3371

A classic work of satire, social commentary, and geometry ...
Flatland--A Romance of Many Dimensions - User Rating: 5 stars. Review Summary: This is a book well worth reading by anyone who considers himself educated
www.epinions.com/ content_143573880452

About the author (2002)

Edwin Abbott Abbott (1838-1926) has been ranked as one of the leading scholars and theologians of the Victorian era. He received highest honors in mathematics, classics, and theology at St. John's College, Cambridge, and in 1862 began a brilliant career, during which he served as schoolmaster of some of England's outstanding schools. At the same time he distinguished himself as a scholar, and in 1889 he retired to his studies. Although "Flatland, a literary jeu d'esprit, " has given pleasure to thousands of readers over many generations, Abbott is best known for his scholarly works, especially his "Shakespearian Grammar "and his life of Francis Bacon, and for a number of theological discussions.

Ian Stewart is Professor of Mathematics at Warwick University in England. His many books include Does God Play Dice?, The collapse of Chaos (with Jack Cohen), Game, Set and Math, and Fearful Symmetry: Is God a Geometer? (with Martin Golubitsky). He contributed to a wide range of newspapers and
magazines, and writes the "Mathematical Recreations" column of Scientific American.

Bibliographic information

QR code for The Annotated Flatland
TitleThe Annotated Flatland: a romance of many dimensions
AuthorEdwin Abbott Abbott
EditorIan Stewart
ContributorIan Stewart
Editionillustrated
PublisherDa Capo Press, 2002
ISBN0738205419, 9780738205410
Length239 pages
Subjects ›  › 

Mathematics / Reference
Science / Physics / Mathematical & Computational
  
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