false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166803107m/17033.jpg 17033 7 In 1884, an amiably eccentric clergyman and literary scholar named Edwin Abbott Abbott published an odd philosophical novel called <I>Flatland</I>, in which he explored such things as four-dimensional mathematics and gently satirized some of the orthodoxies of his time. The book went on to be a bestseller in Victorian England, and it has remained in print ever since.<p> With <I>Flatterland</I>, Ian Stewart, an amiable professor of mathematics at the University of Warwick, updates the science of <I>Flatland</I>, adding literally countless dimensions to Abbott's scheme of things ("Your world has not just four dimensions," one of his characters proclaims, "but five, fifty, a million, or even an infinity of them! And none of them need be time. Space of a hundred and one dimensions is just as real as a space of three dimensions"). Along his fictional path, Stewart touches on Feynman diagrams, superstring theory, time travel, quantum mechanics, and black holes, among many other topics. And, in Abbott's spirit, Stewart pokes fun at our own assumptions, including our quest for a Theory of Everything.<p> You can't help but be charmed by a book with characters named Superpaws, the Hawk King, the Projective Lion, and the Space Hopper and dotted with doggerel such as "You ain't nothin' but a hadron / nucleifyin' all the time" and "I can't get no / more momentum." And, best of all, you can learn a thing or two about modern mathematics while being roundly entertained. That's no small accomplishment, and one for which Stewart deserves applause. <I>--Gregory McNamee</I> 18661 2001 Flatterland: Like Flatland, Only More So total:154|5:26|4:42|3:61|2:21|1:4| 154 527 282 19 4 1 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Thu Jun 07 05:29:12 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 07 05:37:51 -0700 2007
I picked up a copy at the same time as Flatland and read the two books one after the other.

...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Wed Mar 18 11:29:15 -0700 2009 Wed Mar 18 11:33:35 -0700 2009 1 Flatland, explores dimensions and peoples that ol' Edwin Abbott couldn't have dreamed of back in 1884. This book, by a mathematician scientist, truly captures the essence of the perspective shattering style of Abbot, although it lacks much of Flatland's sweeping social...more...]]> 3 0 true false Sat Oct 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Dec 26 09:45:44 -0800 2008 Sat Oct 24 16:42:24 -0700 2009 1
I read Flatland (everyone should), and it was about 100 pages of interesting mathematical/sociological critique, written in 1884 in the style of Jonathan Swift. There were significant differences in the Flatland societal strata among classes and between men ...more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Sep 21 21:15:33 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 21 21:25:37 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jun 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 16:36:35 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 21:07:24 -0700 2009 more...]]> 0 0 false false Tue Sep 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 08 08:06:56 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 08 08:10:40 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 18:12:04 -0800 2009 Mon Mar 02 18:12:48 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Wed Feb 20 09:31:58 -0800 2008 Wed Feb 20 11:18:07 -0800 2008
The pictures included can be of great help with some of the fuzzier descriptions in the book, but overall Stewart doe...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 07 03:56:03 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 10 06:36:34 -0700 2007
No, it's the writing style that makes me give this book a 3 as opposed to a 5...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun Apr 13 06:01:05 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 13 06:03:34 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Jul 31 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Thu Aug 21 09:24:20 -0700 2008 Sun Dec 07 14:53:21 -0800 2008 1 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Apr 13 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 06 10:18:13 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 13 09:24:44 -0700 2008
"But no good ever came of affairs with the upper classes--they'd just get you segment and dump you. With a shrill cry of 'You swine! You ought to be circumscribed!' Jubilee launched herself backwards at the intruder, in...more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Thu Dec 20 16:36:21 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 20 16:39:23 -0800 2007 3 0 false false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Dec 03 06:50:30 -0800 2007 Mon Dec 03 06:52:02 -0800 2007 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1998 Mon Feb 25 22:02:36 -0800 2008 Mon Feb 25 22:04:26 -0800 2008 3 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Apr 06 04:32:20 -0700 2008 Sun Apr 06 04:32:20 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Fri Sep 14 19:00:02 -0700 2007 Mon Sep 01 20:23:13 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Thu May 01 08:47:48 -0700 2008 Thu May 01 08:50:50 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Aug 15 12:09:06 -0700 2007 Wed Aug 15 12:09:06 -0700 2007 3 0 false false Sat Nov 14 18:40:19 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 14 18:40:19 -0800 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=17033