The Annotated Flatland: A Romance Of Many Dimensions - Hardcover

Stewart, Ian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0738205419 ISBN 13: 9780738205410

Publisher: Basic Books, 2001

Synopsis

Presents Abbott's examination of the concepts of space, time, and dimension, along with commentary about the work.

About this title

Review:

The product of an agreeably dotty cleric named Edwin Abbott Abbott and first published in 1884, Flatland distills all that the Victorian era knew of higher mathematics--and then some--into a witty, complex novel of ideas.

Ian Stewart, the author of the equally witty sequel, Flatterland--which adds to Abbott's store of science the key discoveries made since--does a superb job of explaining the original book's enigmas, allusions, ironies, implausibilities, and what Douglas Hofstadter would call "metamagical themas." Among other things, Stewart comments on Abbott's comments on such things as the nature/nurture controversy, the fourth dimension and beyond, the role of multidimensional spaces in economic systems, infinite series and perfect squares, celestial mechanics, and other matters close to the hearts of cosmologists and science buffs alike.

Stewart's notes make an entertaining and learned addition to an already classic bit of writing--one that has never been out of print since its first publication. For both devoted Abbott fans and newcomers to his work, this is the edition to have. --Gregory McNamee

About the Author:

Ian Stewart is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick, where he is Director of the Mathematics Awareness Center. He has published more than sixty books, including Does God Play Dice? , Nature's Numbers, The Science of Discworld (with Terry Pratchett and Jack Cohen), and, most recently, Flatterland, a sequel to Abbott's classic. Stewart was awarded the Royal Society's Michael Faraday Medal for furthering the public understanding of science and he delivered the prestigious Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 1997.

About this edition

• Publisher: Basic Books
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0738205419
• ISBN 13: 9780738205410
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160