Flatterland: Like Flatland, Only More So

We are in 2008, Ian just invited a citizen from flatland to visit some other geometries. Her name is Vikki. You probably met her at Flatland by Edwin A. Abbott (1884). If not, here goes a summary. Vikki is just like us. Minus one dimension. She is a line with a flat-intellect full of flat-prejudices. See the similarity with us? You are about to read her intellectual adventure setting her FREE within the mathematical universe. Ian shows off his erudition updating Vikki on the various mathematical discoveries, say non-Euclidean geometries, that happened after 1884. Mathematics also supports all the recent developments in Physics, say Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. So Vikki also got puzzled within the new abstractions that the scientists are using to understand nature. Takeaway message: it is important to understand our universe as it is, and not just as you imagine it to be.

This feels like the kind of book I could read aloud to a child. It has the same level of word play as Phantom Tollbooth and the same level of absurdity as (and many references to) Alice in Wonderland. And despite or perhaps because of all the silliness, I still feel I’ve learned so much about mathematical concepts. It was not the same experience as reading Flatland, but I got over that and experienced it for what it was, and enjoyed it very much.

I definately enjoyed this book and I think it was a very good attempted sequel to the brilliant Flatland. In essence the book follows a descendent of A. Square (he is disgraced and locked in a psyche ward). After a night were her parents were constantly harasing her she is visited by a multi-dimensional being much like Square was in the original. Here is where it parallels. The character in conjunction with her multi-dimensional guide shows her theoretical mathematical notions and "worlds" that little is known of or that is generally thought to be impossible. The book hits on many advanced notions of math, and is definately not an easy read for someone with an interest in math. I took off 1 star for the following reasons. (1) Some of the math is very difficult to understand and is very advanced for the casual reader. While I guess it does make sense to do it this way since theory of the 3rd dimension (sphere) was not known or believed in during Abott's day. (2) The book certainly does not have the same ingenius level of political satire and commenatry as the original. Flatland was filled with social and political commentary and accusations of government coverups as well as social inequality during 1800s England and this books does not even even come close in doing this in any spirit. Again, I guess the author knew his limitations and this makes sense. This book is definately a great read and is really really interesting. Some parts of it can be very hard to get through as the math can get very murky and in depth. The book is definately a very fast read and the ending is quite good. The overall spirit of Flatland is present in this book, but I definately recommend reading the original one before reading this one to get a hang of whats going on to some tangential degree. Definately get this book, I am glad I read it and I loved it.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flatterly, that expertly executed imitation must certainly be the most...flattering. In this way, excellent flattery is what this book both promises and delivers in a big way. After having read the Edwin Abbott Abbott book Flatland in 1962, ideas germinated in Ian Stewart's head for three decades before he took pen in hand and created, Flatterland...a sequel just as good as the original. For those who don't know, Flatland is the 1884 story of square living in a flat society, Flatland, who comes to learn about higher dimensions, with his friend the sphere. Set one hundred years later, Flatterland picks up the story with Victoria the line segment, Mr. Square's grand daughter, who re-visits high dimensions given modern understanding of what those higher dimensions are. And even though some discussions contain pretty academic mathematical theory, on the whole, the book manages that unique accessibility and magic that comes when true understanding is combined with a great ability to communicate. If all Stewart managed was to create a modern tour of physics and math touching on such diverse topics as how the universe came to be, whether we really do live in a "uni"verse,contemporary M brane theory, string theory and how other dimensions relate to all these issues, the book would merit five stars. However, and to Stewart's credit, the book actually also touches on higher dimensions as a metaphor for overturning two dimensional ways of looking at things...just like the original. If Abbott was around to read this book one can't help but think that he and Mr. Square would be very pleased indeed.

Ian stewart did a marvelous job with this book. I first read its prequel "flatland" based on a recommendation from youtuber "Vsauce," and it was thick and Victorian styled (although it helps to read the prequel before the sequel). Flatter land breaks away from the complexity of words and adds in complexity in math and visualizations of dimensions, true mathmatical meaning, and more. It is written in an easy to read manner that gives you room to think as well as encouragement. The book has a lot of wordplay that Satires our world today (hogsburgers and oxburgers) much like Edwin Abbott did when he wrote flatland. I am going on an Ian Stewart binge after reading this book because he is a mathematical and visionary genius, with many many titles to his name and even more experience as a mathematician.

The book itself is OK. The author covers a lot of different areas that are newish in mathematics--sometimes it seems like too much, but there are lots of connections so I won't gripe too much. The writing is a little too cute with a lot of puns but that is a matter of style. I have to commend the author on the attempt to introduce very difficult material in a simpler way. This book would have gotten another star if the publisher hadn't attempted to save money by not proofreading the Kindle conversion. It is very irritating to be trying to work out the math, and finding that the 0's have been converted to o's and 1's to l's, I's to /s, etc. This is just very sloppy work, and it's not the first time that Amazon conversions have garbled text in similar ways. When I called to complain I got shuffled around a bit, and told I needed to reboot my Kindle, which of course did no good. I finally got someone to give me a partial refund. Please do the same if you buy this book as a Kindle version so that they get the hint that they are not saving money.

For those looking for a continuation of the original, this book may miss the mark on social commentary. I gave it 5 stars on its own merit; rated as a true sequel, it would have to be much lower (maybe 3). Professor Stewart takes the concept of unusual geometry several steps beyond what Abbot did, not just dealing with extra dimensions, but also gets into concepts like projective geometry and graph theory (just to name two). He does this through a narrative that keeps things simple, but not too much so; there are sections that may take a second read for someone with limited background in non-cartesian geometry, but it does not overload the reader and keeps it fun (quite a bit of word play/puns keep it light hearted).

I actually borrowed this book from the local library because I loved the "prequel" so well and thought this looked interesting. I was not at all disappointed. "Flatterland" is truly like Flatland, only more so. Stewart takes the reader on a journey through different mathematical "places" and in doing so explains a wide variety of theories and aspects of mathematics in an easy-to-understand style that even a novice can appreciate. Even months after I read it, parts came back to me and helped me see things in a different light. I bought this book for my own library because it is one that I love to go back to time and again; each time, I learn something new. I think you will, too. Enjoy!

Ottimo libro che introduce ad argomenti di matematica avanzata in maniera divertente. Lo consiglierei a tutti le persone curiose del mondo delle scienze.

The author has done a very good job to write a sequel to a long standing classic. The language of this book is much more modern and there is also much more tempo in the story. The main characters don't only visit flatland but also spaceland, projective geometry, finite geometry, topology, relativistic space etc ... The mathematical coverage is good. The humor is good and the so are the numerous word plays. Recommended reading.

Flatterlands Some people might find the names of the characters a bit irritating but I found them -and the entire book more amusing than one could have ever thought that maths could ever be. The music of Life. I was a bit disappointed in this book; it seemed that too many of the examples were taken from human physiology ; although bearing in mind the author's speciality I suppose that that was only to be expected. Maybe it was not the best title for the book.

Im Gegensatz zu Flatland hat das Buch nur eine Behelfshandlung, auch finde ich das Verhalten der Hauptperson nicht immer glaubhaft. Allerdings habe ich das Buch gelesen, um vielleicht einige anschauliche Erklärungen für bestimmte mathematische Konzepte von Raum und Geometrie zu bekommen und das hat das Buch erreicht.

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