Written in inimitable 19th century British style, the book is a classic novel that brings to life core concepts of mathematics and physics that would be otherwise inaccessible to most mere humans.
An active imagination is all that's required to absorb the core concepts presented. It's easy to enter Abbott's 1-D, 2-D, and 3-D worlds, and, by extension, into those of even higher dimension.
After all, the book was written with a middle school audience in mind!
Middle school 150 years ago was a different animal than it is today. Nevertheless, Flatland remains both an accessible recreational math primer and marvelous short work of fiction and satire. Less than 100 pages long, Flatland can easily be read in a single sitting.
I used to buy this book by the dozen, and give them away as gifts to my most curious math students.
You can read others' impressions of Flatland and order you own copy here (or get the ultra-inexpensive edition here).
Middle school 150 years ago was a different animal than it is today. Nevertheless, Flatland remains both an accessible recreational math primer and marvelous short work of fiction and satire. Less than 100 pages long, Flatland can easily be read in a single sitting.
I used to buy this book by the dozen, and give them away as gifts to my most curious math students.
You can read others' impressions of Flatland and order you own copy here (or get the ultra-inexpensive edition here).
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