Related News Aff Review: Share this Rating Title: The Movie 6. Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Learn more More Like This. Flatland TV Series Belladonna of Sadness Edit Cast Cast overview, first billed only: Arthur Square voice Kristen Bell Hex voice Michael York Spherius voice Joe Estevez Abbott Square voice Tony Hale King of Pointland voice Curtis Luciani King of Lineland voice Danu Uribe Arlene Square voice Garry Peters Pantocyclus voice Lee Eddy Pentagon Reporter voice Shannon McCormick Triangle Guard 1 voice Seth Caplan Triangle Guard 2 voice Dano Johnson Radio Triangle voice T.

Edit Storyline Based on Edwin Abott's book "Flatland", this is an animated film about geometric characters living in a two-dimensional world. Edit Details Official Sites: Edit Did You Know? Goofs The end of the movie shows a hypercube surrounded by eight cubes, one of which is the center of Flatland's Area 33H, which is surrounded by six squares. Continuing the analogy, each square should be surrounded by four lines, and each line should be surrounded by two points, yet in the actual Area 33H, each square is only surrounded by one line and each line is surrounded by only one point.

Similarly, the other seven cubes in Spaceland do not appear to be surrounded by any squares, lines, or points. Quotes Female Boss Circle: Crazy Credits The film opens with the following message: It has been formatted to fit your Spaceland screen. Certain elements from Flatland have been altered to be recognizable by three-dimensional beings. The story itself consists of a two dimensional world Flatland , in which there are This book should not be read in hopes of finding an entertaining story.

The story itself consists of a two dimensional world Flatland , in which there are people of assorted shapes. These shapes live regular lives, just as we do. The protagonist a square , is visited by a sphere, which tries to explain to him the existence of a third dimension. This proves difficult, though, because to the square in flatland, the sphere appears to be nothing more than a circle that can expand, contract, disappear and reappear.

In the course of the explanation, the book also describes "Lineland," a one dimensional world where the inhabitants would also have trouble understanding dimensions above their own. This book's excellence lies in the way it takes a complex topic and breaks it down into a metaphor that can be more easily understood.

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It argues quite well that if there is a fourth dimension, it probably isn't "time. For those of us who enjoy higher math, though, it's excellent. This was one crazy, opium fuelled, brilliant book about geometry and different dimensions and I am going to explain it the best way I can but Edwin A Abbott does it so much better.

Here is a story of Square who is a square and lives in a two dimensional world of geometrical figures. The first part of the book talks about the social breakdown of the Flatland and it is a thinly disguised satire on the Victorian society. People are divided into classes according to their geometry and the worst off a This was one crazy, opium fuelled, brilliant book about geometry and different dimensions and I am going to explain it the best way I can but Edwin A Abbott does it so much better.

People are divided into classes according to their geometry and the worst off are women who are not even figures; they are just straight lines. They have few rights and no one actually takes their intellect seriously. On the other hand they are dangerous because being straight lines they can easily pierce any figure. Different parts of Flatland developed different strategies for dealing with the danger, from not allowing women to leave their houses, to forcing them to constantly wiggle their bums, so they are visible from far.

It makes you write things like that. The second part of the book gets more interesting as it delves deeper into the concept of dimensions. As I said, our hero lives in a two-dimension reality. Try to imagine such a world. You probably see it as a piece of paper with various figures drawn on it. If a 2D world was your entire reality you would only be able to see lines and dots. Your eyes would be on the same level as the figures and you would see everything in one dimension and infer the second dimension because you can move in it and you have learnt it through experience.

We know we can move in three dimensions and we know about perspective, light, shadow, etc. It is easier for us to understand a two-dimension reality than it is to imagine a four-dimension one. We can see it perfectly when our Square visits a one dimensional land and he laughs at it and tries to explain to the King that there is more to life than just looking at a dot in front of you.

There is another dimension where there are not only dots but lines as well. The King of course laughs him off. Then he is a convert, and he quickly assumes there must be more dimensions. Fourth and fifth and ad infinitum. I think while reading this I got as close as I would ever get to understanding and imagining a 4D world. If in a 3D world we can see the insides of everything of a 2D world, then I suppose a in 4D world we would be able to actually SEE all three dimensions, all the insides of everything. Am I making any sense? I still believe in it but I can no longer grasp it.

Just like the poor Square, back in his 2D-Land, thrown in prison for preaching revolution, still believes in the third dimension, but can no longer conjure the image of a Sphere in his head. View all 6 comments. Mar 30, Apatt rated it it was amazing Shelves: In the first half of the book Square gives us a tour of his world where women are straight lines and, if you are symmetrical, the more sides you have the better. This means that circles are the elite of this society because they are really polygons with zillions of super tiny sides.

Irregular polygons are abominations and isosceles are plebeians.

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott Abbott - Free Ebook

Special laws are applied to women because they are capable of accidentally stabbing people to death due to their pointiness. Use of colours is banned because they can be used as disguises. How these geometric persons move around without legs is deliberately left unexplained with a bit of "lampshading". Guided by an enigmatic Sphere who seems to have popped up out of nowhere and who Square initially mistook to be a circle , these trips to other planes of existence enables Square to not only think outside the box but to introduce him to the existence of boxes. This was a steep learning curve for him but he adapts like a champ and becomes a more rounded individual because of it.

Flatland is a very odd novella it is part allegory, part satire, part geometry lessons, part spec fic. The satirical look at the class system makes this all too real issue painfully acute. One thing that blows my mind a bit is that prior to reading the book I visualized it as a story of different geometric shapes moving around going about their business. However, the denizens of the Flatland cannot actually see these different shapes. As the Square or Edwin Abbott Abbott mentions early in the book you have to imagine looking at these shapes with your line of sight on the same level as their surface.

Abbott explains it very clearly as follows: It will appear a circle. But now, drawing back to the edge of the table, gradually lower your eye thus bringing yourself more and more into the condition of the inhabitants of Flatland , and you will find the penny becoming more and more oval to your view, and at last when you have placed your eye exactly on the edge of the table so that you are, as it were, actually a Flatlander the penny will then have ceased to appear oval at all, and will have become, so far as you can see, a straight line.

In the one-dimensional Lineland everybody looks like a point and sideways movement is impossible; as for the zero-dimensional Pointland, there is only one denizen and he is weird! I really enjoyed Flatland , it is bizarre and thought-provoking; it definitely gave me a new perspective on life. The treatment of women may seem a little sexist but E. Abbott is perhaps satirizing sexism rather than perpetuating it. I definitely recommend you read Flatland before you flatline.

Wonderfully read for Librovox i. These should be in all editions as they are intrinsic to the story. If there is no depth or verticality you can't have cupboards! Their most popular singer is probably Britney Sphere. Yet even in our best regulated and most approximately Circular families I cannot say that the ideal of family life is so high as with you in Spaceland. There is peace, in so far as the absence of slaughter may be called by that name.

In a word, to comport oneself with perfect propriety in Polygonal society, one ought to be a Polygon oneself. Such at least is the painful teaching of my experience.

Doubtless, the life of an Irregular is hard; but the interests of the Greater Number require that it shall be hard. If a man with a triangular front and a polygonal back were allowed to exist and to propagate a still more Irregular posterity, what would become of the arts of life? You, who are blessed with shade as well as light, you, who are gifted with two eyes, endowed with a knowledge of perspective, and charmed with the enjoyment of various colours, you, who can actually SEE an angle, and contemplate the complete circumference of a circle in the happy region of the Three Dimensions—how shall I make clear to you the extreme difficulty which we in Flatland experience in recognizing one another's configuration?

I love maths, I love playing mathematical games, I love philosophising about maths. So this book is perfect for me. But if maths is not your cup of tea, you may not enjoy it as much as I did. I first read about this book in one of Martin Gardner's "Mathematical Games" anthologies, and was enthralled by the concept. In fact, he discusses two books: Flatland by Edwin A. He says Hinton's book is better, and I have managed to locate an online version recently, but have not had time to read it so far. We live in a world of three dimensions.

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions

It is easy for us to deal with one dimension the line , two dimensions the plane and three dimensions space. But can we conceptualise a fourth dimension? It is well-nigh impossible, for our whole being is tied up on this three-dimensional paradigm. Abbot's fictional world is two-dimensional. The characters move about on a flat landscape. They cannot imagine a third dimension. The narrator of the story, A. Square, is living the relatively comfortable life of a country gent until he is snatched up into "Spaceland" by a sphere, a three-dimensional being.

He has a view of his land from a three-dimensional perspective, and Square is never the same again. He comes back to preach the concept of Space to his fellow countrymen and is promptly incarcerated in an asylum as a lunatic. There is no story in this short novella: The first part uses the Flatland society to poke fun at Victorian norms, and is quite entertaining. The inhabitants of Flatland are all geometrical figures: The circle is a special instance of a polygon with an infinite number of sides. The male children of a member of one class are usually born with one more side than the parent, so social climbing is possible.

However, the women are all single lines: There are also irregular polygons, who are social misfits. Abbot explains at length the geography and history of his society. The "Chromatic Revolution" where an attempt to overthrow the established order by a scheming "irregular" is scuttled by a clever circle, through an inspiring speech in parliament worthy of Mark Antony, is especially hilarious.

In the second part, the story submerges itself in the philosophy of maths. The protagonist has a vision of "Lineland", a world of a single dimension: Then, our hero has a visit from a Sphere, an inhabitant of "Spaceland", and he faces the same problem in comprehending the third dimension as the king of Lineland had in comprehending the second later, the Sphere demonstrates the same shortsight when Square moots the possibility of a fourth dimension.

Square is transported into Spaceland by Sphere, and suddenly he can see Flatland from the outside: Square also is witness to a parliarmentary meeting where the Sphere makes a surprise appearance, to try to convince the rulers of Flatland about the existence of space, but to no avail. The preaching of space is a state crime in Flatland, with the penalty of either death or life in confinement according to the social status of the individual - the ultimate fate of the narrator of the story.

Yet even though he is destined to spend his remaining life in an asylum, Square is not willing to let go of his vision of Space. Once seen, he is transformed for life. Abbot, a teacher and theologician, uses his knowledge of philosophy and mathematics not only to create a satire, but also to raise big questions about the limitations of perception in general. It is an extremely enjoyable read, and the issues it raises will stay with you even after you finish it. Since it is available online free from Gutenberg, I suggest everyone to give it a try.

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Oct 08, Mark rated it did not like it Shelves: The premise of Flatland is just that - a two dimensional flatland. As described early in the book, place a coin on a bench and look at the side from a distance. The coin will appear as just a line as does the view of everything in Flatland. Written in the late 's by a school head master and maths and science teacher, this book feels more of a vessel for him to prove his superior intelligence through the grasp of these geometric concepts than an actual entertaining read.

The book is narrated to The premise of Flatland is just that - a two dimensional flatland. The book is narrated to us by a Flatland native who is actually a two dimensional square. As with everything else he appears to others purely as a line but he is not the lowest form. The hierarchy system is based on the number of sides one has. Being a square his four sides rank him lowly but far from the bottom dwellers. Don't shoot me I am only the reviewer but the lowest figures are women.

They are purely just a line but their mouth and eye appear on their point making them extremely dangerous. When they approach you they can accidentally stab you with the point and kill you. The tradesmen are the next level up as isosceles triangles. Then come the other triangles and then up one step at a time for each extra side - meaning our narrator is a step above all triangles.

He in fact is a lawyer. When you get a figure that has three or four hundred sides, the individual sides are so small and the angles almost smooth that he becomes a circle. This is Flatland's top rank and he is a Priest. The offspring of the male are always born with an extra side, our narrator's sons have five sides whereas his daughter is still just a line. Whereas in our lives we are taught to respect our elders, in Flatland you respect your male children and Grandchildren as they have more sides and are therefore higher up than you.

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions by Edwin Abbott Abbott

Does this sound boring and stupid yet? How about this, houses 2 dimensional are built with an East and a West door. Women must only use the East and men the West, this is to avoid accidentally running into each other and she causing a death. The science facts all make sense - what you see in two dimensions as opposed to three dimensions for example but as I said before it really feels like Edwin Abbott is saying "Look how smart I am. Look at the subject matter I have a firm grasp of".

Well Mr Abbott that may well be the case but you obviously never taught English literature because you sure as hell can't write a story of any interest. Not to mention a little bit of a sexiest attitude. This book is 96 pages long and although some 'things' actually do happen it is predominantly about ramming down your throat how weird a 2D world would be. And then again for the stupid he repeats himself. View all 12 comments. Se pensavate che Geometria e Politica e Filosofia potessero difficilmente incastrarsi tra loro, vi sbagliavate.

Quando poi qualcuno vede o sente, anche per sua non colpa, qualcosa che non andava visto o sentito, viene fatto sparire. Che cosa assurda, si potrebbe pensare. Succede anche da noi. Quindi tranquilli, a Flatlandia ci ritroverete molto. Non incazzatevi troppo con Abbott se ce l'aveva con le donne. Insomma, Dante ha reagito bene.


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  • Ma a volte gli approcci sessuali non vanno a finire in Commedie, sopratutto non in Divine. La mia cartolina da Flatlandia smette qui di essere priva di raziocinio, scusate, ma sono ancora troppo esaltata. View all 4 comments. Jan 28, George rated it really liked it Shelves: Quite a charming allegory for the English society of the time, and boy does it show it's age.

    This is basically covered by everyone who reviewed this book, so I am not going to talk about that. What I noticed and I haven't seen anybody mention this yet, is the fact that at the time when this book was written Darwinian evolution has already grasped popular imagination. Just look how he talked about careful pairings between men and women to produce an equilateral triangle and then how each generat Quite a charming allegory for the English society of the time, and boy does it show it's age.

    Just look how he talked about careful pairings between men and women to produce an equilateral triangle and then how each generation after that is achieved gets more sides until it reaches their version of perfection that is the circle. As I am aware people looked towards evolution with quite an optimism at the time and started envisioning utopias that will come to existence with careful work, selection and patience.

    Just look at the squares enlightenment at the prospect of 3 then 4 and as many dimensions it can possibly go. Now this book, by it's writing style would get 3 stars, but no one can write something that after reading it makes me spend a night thinking about tesseracts 4 dimensional cubes and glomes 4 dimensional spheres and not be rewarded. Both mindfuckery and awesomeness. Oct 18, Alice Cai rated it it was amazing Shelves: That's why the would is called flatland because everything is in 2 dimensions.

    It's so trippy and it's really funny too. I can't just give funny quotes though because you need to know the context from the beginning of the chapter and then the context of the chapter before that to get the humor. Some quotes to give an idea of what the book is like: But now, drawing back to the edge of the table, gradually lower your eye thus bringing yourself more and more into the condition of the inhabitants of Flatland , and you will find the penny becoming more and more oval to your view, and at last when you have placed your eye exactly on the edge of the table so that you are, as it were, actually a Flatlander , the penny will then have ceased to appear oval at all and will have become, so far as you can see, a Straight Line.

    Our Soldiers and Lowest Class of Workmen are Triangles with two equal sides, each about eleven inches long, and a base or third side so short often not exceeding half an inch that they form at their vertices a very sharp and formidable angle.

    Indeed, when their bases are of the most degraded type not more than the eighth part of an inch in size , they can hardly be distinguished from Straight Lines or Women; so extremely pointed are their vertices. With us, as with you, these Triangles are distinguished from others by being called Isosceles, and by this name I shall refer to them in the following pages. The author has been dead for years of course it's legal. The narrator, a shape living in a two-dimensional universe, has his thought-world turned upside down went he meets a mysterious being from a three-dimensional world.

    This notion of perspective and liberation from one's own perspective gives the work a The narrator, a shape living in a two-dimensional universe, has his thought-world turned upside down went he meets a mysterious being from a three-dimensional world. This notion of perspective and liberation from one's own perspective gives the work a transcendent slyness and power as it offers a freedom beyond whatever the limited conceptions of the author were. Comes with illustrations showing the exciting worlds of triangles and such.

    View all 5 comments. Jul 28, Milica Chotra rated it really liked it. This Square hopes that his account "may stir up a race of rebels who shall refuse to be confined to limited Dimensionality": Also, in the first part of the book, Abbott cleverly uses geometrical concepts to criticize his own society e. Bear in mind that "Flatland" was written in the 19th century, and if you like math, social critique and enjoy pondering the nature of the Universe or Multiverse - you'll like this book.

    A religious person might experience it on a different level, but I guess they'd like it as well. Aug 16, Paul E. What a fantastic little thought-experiment, only really half-disguised as a story. Through his witty little parable, Abbott manages to explore the physical, mathematical, societal, philosophical and theological without once spoon-feeding his readers OK, maybe there's a little bit of spoon-feeding in the earlier chapters.

    It's only a shame, then, that this is without a doubt the most misogynist book I've ever read in my forty-odd years Oh, well; I suppose nothing's perfect Aug 24, Roy Lotz rated it really liked it Shelves: For why should you praise, for example, the integrity of a Square who faithfully defends the interests of his client, when you ought in reality rather to admire the exact precision of his right angles? Or again, why blame a lying Isosceles, when you ought rather to deplore the incurable inequality of his sides? This is one of those delightful little books, so difficult to review because its charms require no toil to appreciate, and also because the book is so short you might as well read it an For why should you praise, for example, the integrity of a Square who faithfully defends the interests of his client, when you ought in reality rather to admire the exact precision of his right angles?

    This is one of those delightful little books, so difficult to review because its charms require no toil to appreciate, and also because the book is so short you might as well read it and skip the reviews. The charm of the book lies in its conceit, rather than its execution. Indeed, though certainly able, Abbott is not an expert writer; nor does he pretend to be. The genius of this book is in the simple beauty of its premise: What would life be like for a square living in a two-dimensional world?

    Abbott wrings a remarkable amount out of this simple question. First, he gives us a satire of Victorian culture—perhaps the less enduring part of this work, though certainly keen and ruthless in its modest way. To me, the most interesting point Abbott makes in his satire has to do with education. The residents of Flatland spend all their time learning various methods to identify the shapes of others. For if you are living on a two-dimensional plane, telling a square from a circle is no easy matter, as they all appear to you as flat lines. But of course, the more fascinating part of the work has to do with dimensions.

    How would the possibility of two dimensions appear to a one-dimensional creature? And how would the prospect of three dimensions seem to a two-dimensional creature? To the residents of Flatland, tales of cubes and spheres appear like so much absurd metaphysics. Abbott uses this point to show how narrow is our mental framework, how completely blind we are to realities outside our everyday, commonsense world.

    Doing so, Abbott elevates this work from novelty to true art. For after satirizing the world we know, he gives us a glimpse of a world beyond. Mar 16, Jafar rated it really liked it. This book is just brilliant. People in this book live in a two-dimensional world. They're not aware of, or can't even imagine, the third dimension. They have simple geometrical shapes like triangles and squares and other polygons. The higher the number of the sides, the higher the individual is in the social hierarchy. Those who have so many sides that they resemble a circle are priests.

    The land This book is just brilliant.


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    The land is ruled by the Chief Circle. Squares are considered middle-class. Triangles are underclass and soldiers. The lowest status is given to women who are just straight lines. He was either mocking the sexism and the rigid social order of the Victorian Britain, or he was a supreme reactionary. Life in two dimensions has its many challenges. As an example — everyone looks like a straight line.

    Shapes are recognized only when seen from above — in a 3D world. When you live on a plane and see everything on the plane level, everything is just a straight line. The author goes to some length explaining how people can distinguish shapes similar to how 3D creatures like ourselves can have 3D vision. Life in Flatland is not as boring as you might think. A lot is going on.