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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
what was this dude smoking??? this book is about a 2D being getting absolutely ROCKED socially and mentally after a visit from a 3D being?? the incident of course gets the Square wondering about 4D space.......Dune levels of political intrigue at this point tbh. the author goes into wild detail about how Circles are the upper class in his world, and women are just two points making a line and have some ridiculous rules regarding all aspects of their movement and social situations. like.....damn. the book lost me a little towards the end but overall a short edutaining read about dimensions and space, written decades before einstein's theory of general relativity 7.5/10 and half a point for the scathing insult "attend to your configuration" 8/10
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
men would rather discover a new dimension than to admit that women has rights!
granted, this was written in the 1880s but... in flatland, we follow a square who went on a rant about how women are always straight lines, whereas men can be different shapes to signify different classes, and can also try to go up a class by growing up sides (like a triangle becoming a square, 3 becomes 4) but women are always one line.
in the second half of the book, the mc then met someone from lineland (one dimension) and he was so frustrated with people for not believing him that the world has more dimensions than that. then he met a sphere (3 dimensions - spaceland) and he got worked up just the same when the sphere tries to tell him there's up and down. and he's like up and down? you mean ?? north and south ?? 😄 😄 and the sphere is like no bitch i can see your entire house cuz everything is out in the open. it's close to YOU but i can see it from ABOVE. and he cannot wrap his head around that concept.
it reminds me a lot of pre-einstein time, with theory of relativity coming out and people cannot understand whatever tf that means. and all of that could've made this book really interesting, if not for the blatant sexism i can't overlook. i was hoping to see more usages of maths and shapes for social hierarchy and criticism, but there's a whole chapter on why women = frail and dumb and as they try to push for progression but only get kicked more.
so, men at that time period will write a whole book to explain how multiple-dimension works and how different shapes = different classes, and how sometimes they can't wrap their heads around something doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but women are all frail and dumb in allllll dimensions hehe
granted, this was written in the 1880s but... in flatland, we follow a square who went on a rant about how women are always straight lines, whereas men can be different shapes to signify different classes, and can also try to go up a class by growing up sides (like a triangle becoming a square, 3 becomes 4) but women are always one line.
in the second half of the book, the mc then met someone from lineland (one dimension) and he was so frustrated with people for not believing him that the world has more dimensions than that. then he met a sphere (3 dimensions - spaceland) and he got worked up just the same when the sphere tries to tell him there's up and down. and he's like up and down? you mean ?? north and south ?? 😄 😄 and the sphere is like no bitch i can see your entire house cuz everything is out in the open. it's close to YOU but i can see it from ABOVE. and he cannot wrap his head around that concept.
it reminds me a lot of pre-einstein time, with theory of relativity coming out and people cannot understand whatever tf that means. and all of that could've made this book really interesting, if not for the blatant sexism i can't overlook. i was hoping to see more usages of maths and shapes for social hierarchy and criticism, but there's a whole chapter on why women = frail and dumb and as they try to push for progression but only get kicked more.
so, men at that time period will write a whole book to explain how multiple-dimension works and how different shapes = different classes, and how sometimes they can't wrap their heads around something doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but women are all frail and dumb in allllll dimensions hehe
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Interesting concept, annoyed that even written as lines/shapes woman are portrayed as inferior and too emotional.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Funny and interesting satire of rigid social hierarchies combined with a surprisingly open minded view (for the time) of dimensions and reality. Solid little book
This was a very interesting thought experiment that got going in part 2. I’m really surprised at how well it explained the three spatial dimensions and the possibility of other spatial dimensions and how they would interact with our own.
It’s a classic I’ve owned for years but finally read. Don’t make my mistake. Read it now.
It’s a classic I’ve owned for years but finally read. Don’t make my mistake. Read it now.
Clever and unique. Made me bow to the field of mathematics and want to study physics again.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes