"... Aristotle said that some people were only fit to be slaves. I do not contradict him. But I reject slavery because I see no men fit to be masters."
~ C.S. Lewis
Friday, July 6, 2012
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
unedited review: flatland by edwin a. abbot
A thin, amusing volume which tells the tale of a Square living in a two-dimensional universe. Written in first person, and in an old fashioned somewhat didactic manner.
Edwin A. Abbot was the headmaster of the City of London School from 1865 onwards. He wrote over forty books, many of them weighty educational and theological works, yet he is best known today for Flatland: a Romance of Many Dimensions.
The first half of Flatland would be described as extremely sexist and un-politically correct to most modern minds, including my own. But it is thought to be a satire of Victorian mores by many people. The part about the Women was definitely satirical. The second half is about the protagonist, A. Square, and his voyages into Spaceland, beyond, and the hilarious conversation he has with the Monarch of Pointland, which has NO dimensions.
This book captivates the imagination much as does Alice in Wonderland, since both are set in fantastic worlds.
Yet with the recent development of string theory in physics and more recently M-theory (what does that M stand for?!), extra dimensions may not be so far fetched after all. For string theory to 'work', it requires ten dimensions, and M-theory requires eleven. But those extra six or seven dimensions are curled up into the weird, strange and mind-boggling Calabi-Yau spaces, and would not be visible to the naked eyes IF they even found a way to prove the theory.
~~~~~~~
Concisely speaking, Flatland is an odd book which will both amuse you and give you something to think about.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Recommended to all ages!
Excelsior, (my gosh, that does sound pretentious)
Diana b
Edwin A. Abbot was the headmaster of the City of London School from 1865 onwards. He wrote over forty books, many of them weighty educational and theological works, yet he is best known today for Flatland: a Romance of Many Dimensions.
The first half of Flatland would be described as extremely sexist and un-politically correct to most modern minds, including my own. But it is thought to be a satire of Victorian mores by many people. The part about the Women was definitely satirical. The second half is about the protagonist, A. Square, and his voyages into Spaceland, beyond, and the hilarious conversation he has with the Monarch of Pointland, which has NO dimensions.
This book captivates the imagination much as does Alice in Wonderland, since both are set in fantastic worlds.
Yet with the recent development of string theory in physics and more recently M-theory (what does that M stand for?!), extra dimensions may not be so far fetched after all. For string theory to 'work', it requires ten dimensions, and M-theory requires eleven. But those extra six or seven dimensions are curled up into the weird, strange and mind-boggling Calabi-Yau spaces, and would not be visible to the naked eyes IF they even found a way to prove the theory.
~~~~~~~
Concisely speaking, Flatland is an odd book which will both amuse you and give you something to think about.
Rating: 4.5 stars
Recommended to all ages!
Excelsior, (my gosh, that does sound pretentious)
Diana b
Monday, July 2, 2012
greetings, internet
...I'm going to blog again, but this time hopefully to aid intellectual development. In other words, I'm trying to improve my mind, and blogging will help me document the process.
If you want to know something about me, check out the "about me" page. Thanks.
This blog will not be written for the reader, but for myself, so if you don't like it, I really don't care.
My goal to become an well-educated member of society. And to hopefully be able to graduate high school next spring.
Excelsior,
Diana b
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