Book review: Flatland
December 15, 2024
A review of the classic book Flatland by Edwin. A. Abbott.
Firstly, its a short book, also called a novella which you can easily finish in a couple of sittings. Although it is usually classified as Science fiction but actually there is no futuristic technology in it. Its an old book, so be prepared to plough through some arcane language. The book has seen a revival in popularity with the rise of science fiction since it contains a lot of neat geometry. Curiously, some of the chapter titles are rather misleading but I suspect that it is deliberate and a part of the author's plan.
So, lets get to the contents of the book. You can understand the book in 3 layers. At the face of its, its a mathematical or geometrical book. It points out that we live in 3 Dimensions (Spaceland). There can be living beings in 2 D (Flatland), 1 D (Lineland) and even 0D (Pointland). Similarly, there can be beings in 4D which we cannot visualize. 4D beings will be able to look at 3D in a way that will look like they can see the insides of the inhabitants. And they will appear God-like to 3D beings.
At the second level, the book can be thought as an explanation of God, Religion and superior beings. The book points out that even though a higher dimensional being may appear god like, there is actually no need to give them that credit.
Finally, and craftily hidden by the author from the table of contents, this book is a social commentary. Its lays out the hierarchical structure of society. How its ruled by the elites, how workers are kept in check by the elites. In that sense, its a precursor to "Brave new world" and "1984".
The book leaves the reader to ponder with a very valid scientific question - Is the world 4-dimensional? If the world is indeed 4 dimensional and we can only perceive 3 dimensions then we should see magic happen. Just like 2 dimensional flat landers perceive 3-dimensional motion as magic. It may be that we are so used to this "magic" that we take that as part of the world and we have declared them as "laws" of nature. Could Gravity be such a magic? We have tried to explain it as law of nature but there is no fundamental basis for it yet. So, it may be a 4-dimensional phenomenon. I think, ultimately this is the question which still attracts so many bright minds to this book.
So, lets get to the contents of the book. You can understand the book in 3 layers. At the face of its, its a mathematical or geometrical book. It points out that we live in 3 Dimensions (Spaceland). There can be living beings in 2 D (Flatland), 1 D (Lineland) and even 0D (Pointland). Similarly, there can be beings in 4D which we cannot visualize. 4D beings will be able to look at 3D in a way that will look like they can see the insides of the inhabitants. And they will appear God-like to 3D beings.
At the second level, the book can be thought as an explanation of God, Religion and superior beings. The book points out that even though a higher dimensional being may appear god like, there is actually no need to give them that credit.
Finally, and craftily hidden by the author from the table of contents, this book is a social commentary. Its lays out the hierarchical structure of society. How its ruled by the elites, how workers are kept in check by the elites. In that sense, its a precursor to "Brave new world" and "1984".
The book leaves the reader to ponder with a very valid scientific question - Is the world 4-dimensional? If the world is indeed 4 dimensional and we can only perceive 3 dimensions then we should see magic happen. Just like 2 dimensional flat landers perceive 3-dimensional motion as magic. It may be that we are so used to this "magic" that we take that as part of the world and we have declared them as "laws" of nature. Could Gravity be such a magic? We have tried to explain it as law of nature but there is no fundamental basis for it yet. So, it may be a 4-dimensional phenomenon. I think, ultimately this is the question which still attracts so many bright minds to this book.