Le dimensioni nascoste della teoria delle stringhe - Scienza in rete
Una possibile risposta a questo problema è la teoria delle stringhe, che postula che i costituenti fondamentali della materia siano minuscole ...
Flatland
Fin dall'antichità l'umanità si è però chiesta se potessero esistere dimensioni spaziali aggiuntive, nascoste per qualche ragione alla nostra percezione. Già il celeberrimo mito della caverna di Platone raccontava per esempio di esseri costretti per tutta la loro vita a non vedere che ombre proiettate sul muro di una caverna; queste sfortunate creature non avrebbero avuto modo di immaginare la terza dimensione. Nell'Ottocento, lo scrittore Edwin Abbott descrisse le avventure di un quadrato in un mondo di esseri bidimensionali in " <anchor>Flatland</anchor>", una brillante satira della Gran Bretagna vittoriana. E' solo nel XX secolo, tuttavia, che l'idea comincia a essere esaminata come seria possibilità scientifica. Nel 1919 il fisico tedesco Theodor Kaluza nota una caratteristica curiosa della teoria della relatività generale, formulata appena tre anni prima da Einstein per descrivere la gravità. Assumendo l'esistenza di una dimensione spaziale in più, la teoria di Einstein descrive non solo la gravità, ma anche l'elettromagnetismo! In questo modello, il fotone si rivela essere una delle polarizzazioni del gravitone; due forze molto diverse vengono così "unificate".
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## Contents

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- [1Plot](#Plot)
- [2Social elements](#Social_elements)
- [3As social satire](#As_social_satire)
- [4Critical reception](#Critical_reception)
- [5Adaptations and parodies](#Adaptations_and_parodies)
- [6In popular culture](#In_popular_culture)
- [7See also](#See_also)
- [8References](#References)
- [9External links](#External_links)Toggle External links subsection  - [9.1Online and downloadable versions of the text](#Online_and_downloadable_versions_of_the_text)

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# _Flatland_

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1884 novella by Edwin Abbott Abbott

This article is about the novella. For other uses, see [Flatland (disambiguation)](/wiki/Flatland_(disambiguation) "Flatland (disambiguation)").

Not to be confused with [_Flatworld_](/wiki/Flatworld "Flatworld").

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions [![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/Houghton_EC85_Ab264_884f_-_Flatland%2C_cover.jpg/220px-Houghton_EC85_Ab264_884f_-_Flatland%2C_cover.jpg)](/wiki/File:Houghton_EC85_Ab264_884f_-_Flatland,_cover.jpg)

The cover to _Flatland_, first edition

Author[Edwin A. Abbott](/wiki/Edwin_A._Abbott "Edwin A. Abbott")IllustratorEdwin A. AbbottGenre[Science fiction](/wiki/Science_fiction "Science fiction")Publisher[Seeley & Co.](/wiki/Seeley,_Service "Seeley, Service")

Publication date

1884Publication placeEnglandPages96[OCLC](/wiki/OCLC_(identifier) "OCLC (identifier)")[2306280](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2306280)[LC Class](/wiki/LCC_(identifier) "LCC (identifier)")QA699Text_[Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Flatland "s:Flatland")_ at [Wikisource](/wiki/Wikisource "Wikisource")

_**Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions**_ is a [satirical](/wiki/Satire "Satire") novella by the English [schoolmaster](/wiki/Schoolmaster "Schoolmaster") [Edwin Abbott Abbott](/wiki/Edwin_Abbott_Abbott "Edwin Abbott Abbott"), first published in 1884 by [Seeley & Co.](/wiki/Seeley,_Service "Seeley, Service") of London. Written pseudonymously by "A Square",[\[1\]](#cite_note-1) the book used the fictional [two-dimensional world](/wiki/Plane_(mathematics) "Plane (mathematics)") of Flatland to comment on the hierarchy of [Victorian](/wiki/Victorian_era "Victorian era") culture, but the novella's more enduring contribution is its examination of [dimensions](/wiki/Dimension "Dimension").[\[2\]](#cite_note-isbn0-465-01123-3_1-2)

A sequel, _[Sphereland](/wiki/Sphereland "Sphereland")_, was written by [Dionys Burger](/wiki/Dionys_Burger "Dionys Burger") in 1957. Several films have been based on _Flatland_, including the feature film _[Flatland](/wiki/Flatland_(2007_Ehlinger_film) "Flatland (2007 Ehlinger film)")_ (2007). Other efforts have been short or experimental films, including one narrated by [Dudley Moore](/wiki/Dudley_Moore "Dudley Moore") and the short films _[Flatland: The Movie](/wiki/Flatland_(2007_Johnson_and_Travis_film) "Flatland (2007 Johnson and Travis film)")_ (2007) and _[Flatland 2: Sphereland](/wiki/Flatland_2:_Sphereland "Flatland 2: Sphereland")_ (2012).[\[3\]](#cite_note-3)

## Plot

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Flatland&action=edit&section=1 "Edit section: Plot")\]

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Houghton_EC85_Ab264_884f_-_Flatland%2C_men_and_women_doors.jpg/220px-Houghton_EC85_Ab264_884f_-_Flatland%2C_men_and_women_doors.jpg)](/wiki/File:Houghton_EC85_Ab264_884f_-_Flatland,_men_and_women_doors.jpg) Illustration of a simple house in Flatland.

The story describes a [two-dimensional world](/wiki/Plane_(mathematics) "Plane (mathematics)") inhabited by [geometric figures](/wiki/Shape "Shape") (flatlanders[\[4\]](#cite_note-4)); women are [line segments](/wiki/Line_segment "Line segment"), while men are [polygons](/wiki/Polygon "Polygon") with various numbers of sides. The narrator is a [square](/wiki/Square_(geometry) "Square (geometry)"), a member of the [caste](/wiki/Caste "Caste") of gentlemen and professionals, who guides the readers through some of the implications of life in two dimensions. The first half of the story goes through the practicalities of existing in a two-dimensional universe, as well as a history leading up to the year 1999 on the eve of the 3rd Millennium.

On New Year's Eve, the Square dreams of a visit to a [one-dimensional world](/wiki/One-dimensional_space "One-dimensional space"), "Lineland", inhabited by men, consisting of lines, while the women consisted of "lustrous points". These [points](/wiki/Point_(geometry) "Point (geometry)") and lines are unable to see the Square as anything other than a set of points on a line. Thus, the Square attempts to convince the realm's [monarch](/wiki/Monarch "Monarch") of a second dimension but cannot do so. In the end, the monarch of Lineland tries to kill the Square rather than tolerate him any further.

Following this vision, the Square is visited by a [sphere](/wiki/Sphere "Sphere"). Similar to the "points" in Lineland, he is unable to see the three-dimensional object as anything other than a [circle](/wiki/Circle "Circle") (more precisely, a [disk](/wiki/Disk_(mathematics) "Disk (mathematics)")). The Sphere then levitates up and down through Flatland, allowing the Square to see the circle expand and contract between [great circle](/wiki/Great_circle "Great circle") and small circles. The Sphere then tries further to convince the Square of the [third dimension](/wiki/Three-dimensional_space "Three-dimensional space") by dimensional analogies (a point becomes a line, a line becomes a square). The Square is still unable to comprehend the third dimension, so the Sphere resorts to deeds: he gives info about the "insides" of the house, moves a cup through the third dimension, and even goes inside the Square for a bit. Still unable to comprehend 3D, the Sphere takes the Square to the third dimension, Spaceland. This Sphere visits Flatland at the turn of each millennium to introduce a new [apostle](/wiki/Apostle "Apostle") to the idea of a third dimension in the hope of eventually educating the population of Flatland. From the safety of Spaceland, they can oversee the leaders of Flatland, acknowledging the Sphere's existence and prescribing the silencing. After this [proclamation](/wiki/Proclamation "Proclamation") is made, many witnesses are massacred or imprisoned (according to caste), including the Square's brother.

After the Square's mind is opened to new dimensions, he tries to convince the Sphere of the theoretical possibility of the existence of a [fourth dimension](/wiki/Four-dimensional_space "Four-dimensional space") and higher spatial dimensions. Still, the Sphere returns his student to Flatland in disgrace.

The Square then has a dream in which the Sphere revisits him, this time to introduce him to a [zero-dimensional space](/wiki/Zero-dimensional_space "Zero-dimensional space"), Pointland, of whom the Point (sole inhabitant, monarch, and universe in one) perceives any communication as a thought originating in his own mind (cf. [Solipsism](/wiki/Solipsism "Solipsism")):

> "You see," said my Teacher, "how little your words have done. So far as the Monarch understands them at all, he accepts them as his own – for he cannot conceive of any other except himself – and plumes himself upon the variety of _Its Thought_ as an instance of creative Power. Let us leave this god of Pointland to the ignorant fruition of his omnipresence and omniscience: nothing that you or I can do can rescue him from his self-satisfaction."[\[5\]](#cite_note-5)
>
> — the Sphere

[![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a9/Flatland_%28first_edition%29_page_100.png/221px-Flatland_%28first_edition%29_page_100.png)](/wiki/File:Flatland_(first_edition)_page_100.png) The last sketch in the book.

The Square recognises the identity of the ignorance of the monarchs of Pointland and Lineland with his own (and the Sphere's) previous ignorance of the existence of higher dimensions. Once returned to Flatland, the Square cannot convince anyone of Spaceland's existence, especially after official [decrees](/wiki/Decree "Decree") are announced that anyone preaching the existence of three dimensions will be imprisoned (or executed, depending on caste). For example, he tries to convince his relative of the third dimension but cannot move a square "upward," as opposed to forward or sideways. Eventually, the Square himself is imprisoned for just this reason, with only occasional contact with his brother, who is imprisoned in the same facility. He cannot convince his brother, even after all they have both seen. Seven years after being imprisoned, A Square writes out the book _Flatland_ as a [memoir](/wiki/Memoir "Memoir"), hoping to keep it as posterity for a future generation that can see beyond their two-dimensional existence.

## Social elements

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Flatland&action=edit&section=2 "Edit section: Social elements")\]

Men are portrayed as polygons whose [social status](/wiki/Social_status "Social status") is determined by their [regularity](/wiki/Regular_polygon "Regular polygon") and the number of their sides, with a Circle considered the "perfect" shape. Women are lines, quite fragile but also dangerous, as they can disappear from view and possibly stab someone. To prevent this they are required by law to sound a "peace-cry" while moving about and to use separate doors from men.

In the world of Flatland, classes are distinguished by the "Art of Hearing", the "Art of Feeling", and the "Art of Sight Recognition". Classes can be distinguished by the sound of one's voice, but the lower classes have more developed vocal organs, enabling them to feign the voice of a Polygon or even a Circle. Feeling, practised by the lower classes and women, determines the configuration of a person by feeling one of its [angles](/wiki/Angle "Angle"). The "Art of Sight Recognition", practised by the upper classes, is aided by "Fog", which allows an observer to determine the depth of an object. With this, polygons with sharp angles relative to the observer will fade more rapidly than polygons with more gradual angles. Colour of any kind [was banned](/wiki/Sumptuary_law "Sumptuary law") in Flatland after [Isosceles](/wiki/Isosceles_triangle "Isosceles triangle") workers painted themselves to impersonate [noble](/wiki/Nobility "Nobility") Polygons. The Square describes these events, and the ensuing [class war](/wiki/Class_conflict "Class conflict") at length.

The population of Flatland can " [evolve](/wiki/Evolution "Evolution")" through the "Law of Nature", which states: "a male child shall have one more side than his father, so that each generation shall rise (as a rule) one step in the scale of development and nobility. Thus the son of a Square is a [Pentagon](/wiki/Pentagon "Pentagon"), the son of a Pentagon, a [Hexagon](/wiki/Hexagon "Hexagon"); and so on".

This rule is not the case when dealing with Isosceles Triangles (Soldiers and Workmen) with only two [congruent](/wiki/Congruence_(geometry) "Congruence (geometry)") sides. The smallest angle of an Isosceles Triangle gains 30 [arc minutes](/wiki/Minute_and_second_of_arc "Minute and second of arc") (half a [degree](/wiki/Degree_(angle) "Degree (angle)")) each generation. Additionally, the rule does not seem to apply to many-sided Polygons. For example, the sons of several hundred-sided Polygons will often develop 50 or more sides more than their parents. Furthermore, the angle of an Isosceles Triangle or the number of sides of a (regular) Polygon may be altered during life by deeds or [surgical adjustments](/wiki/Body_modification "Body modification").

An [Equilateral Triangle](/wiki/Equilateral_triangle "Equilateral triangle") is a member of the [craftsman class](/wiki/Artisan "Artisan"). Squares and Pentagons are the "gentlemen" class, as doctors, lawyers, and other professions. Hexagons are the lowest rank of nobility, all the way up to (near) Circles, who make up the [priest class](/wiki/Priestly_caste "Priestly caste"). The higher-order Polygons have much less of a chance of producing sons, preventing Flatland from being overcrowded with noblemen.

Apart from Isosceles Triangles, only regular Polygons are considered until chapter seven of the book when the issue of irregularity, or physical deformity is brought up. In a two-dimensional world, a regular polygon can be identified by a single angle and/or [vertex](/wiki/Vertex_(geometry) "Vertex (geometry)"). To maintain [social cohesion](/wiki/Group_cohesiveness "Group cohesiveness"), irregularity is to be abhorred, with moral irregularity and criminality cited, "by some" (in the book), as inevitable additional deformities, a sentiment with which the Square concurs. If the error of deviation is above a stated amount, the irregular Polygon faces [euthanasia](/wiki/Euthanasia "Euthanasia"); if below, he becomes the lowest rank of [civil servant](/wiki/Civil_service "Civil service"). An irregular Polygon is not destroyed at birth, but allowed to develop to see if the irregularity can be "cured" or reduced. If the deformity remains, the irregular is "painlessly and mercifully consumed."[\[6\]](#cite_note-6)

## As social satire

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Flatland&action=edit&section=3 "Edit section: As social satire")\]

In _Flatland_, Abbott describes a society rigidly divided into classes. Social ascent is the main aspiration of its inhabitants, apparently granted to everyone but strictly controlled by the top of the hierarchy. Freedom is despised and the laws are cruel. Innovators are imprisoned or suppressed. Members of lower classes who are intellectually valuable, and potential leaders of [riots](/wiki/Riot "Riot"), are either killed or promoted to the higher classes. Every attempt for change is considered dangerous and harmful. This world is not prepared to receive "revelations from another world". The satirical part is mainly concentrated in the first part of the book, "This World", which describes Flatland. The main points of interest are the Victorian concept of women's roles in the society and in the class-based hierarchy of men.[\[7\]](#cite_note-isbn0-465-01123-3_3-7) Abbott has been accused\[ _[weasel words](/wiki/Wikipedia:Avoid_weasel_words "Wikipedia:Avoid weasel words")_\]\[ _[by whom?](/wiki/Wikipedia:Manual_of_Style/Words_to_watch#Unsupported_attributions "Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Words to watch")_\] of [misogyny](/wiki/Misogyny "Misogyny") due to his portrayal of women in _Flatland_. In his Preface to the Second and Revised Edition, 1884, he answers such critics by emphasizing that the description of women was satirizing the viewpoints held, stating that the Square:

> was writing as a Historian, he has identified himself (perhaps too closely) with the views generally adopted by Flatland and (as he has been informed) even by Spaceland, Historians; in whose pages (until very recent times) the destinies of Women and of the masses of mankind have seldom been deemed worthy of mention and never of careful consideration.

## Critical reception

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Flatland&action=edit&section=4 "Edit section: Critical reception")\]

_Flatland_ did not have much success when published, although it was not entirely ignored.[\[8\]](#cite_note-Flatland_Reviews-8) In the entry on Edwin Abbott in the _[Dictionary of National Biography](/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography "Dictionary of National Biography")_ for persons who died in the period of 1922 to 1930, _Flatland_ was not even mentioned.[\[2\]](#cite_note-isbn0-465-01123-3_1-2)

The book was discovered again after [Albert Einstein](/wiki/Albert_Einstein "Albert Einstein")'s [general theory of relativity](/wiki/General_relativity "General relativity") was published, which brought to prominence the concept of a fourth dimension. _Flatland_ was mentioned in a letter by William Garnett entitled "Euclid, Newton and Einstein" published in _[Nature](/wiki/Nature_(journal) "Nature (journal)")_ on 12 February 1920. In this letter, Abbott is depicted, in a sense, as a prophet due to his intuition of the importance of _time_ to explain certain phenomena:[\[9\]](#cite_note-isbn0-465-01123-3_4-9)[\[10\]](#cite_note-urlFlatland_Reviews-10)

> Some thirty or more years ago a little _[jeu d'esprit](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/jeu_d%27esprit "wiktionary:jeu d'esprit")_ was written by Dr. Edwin Abbott entitled _Flatland_. At the time of its publication it did not attract as much attention as it deserved... If there is motion of our three-dimensional space relative to the fourth dimension, all the changes we experience and assign to the flow of time will be due simply to this movement, the whole of the future as well as the past always existing in the fourth dimension.

The _[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography](/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography#Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography "Dictionary of National Biography")_ subsequently revised his biography to state that \[Abbott\] "is most remembered as the author of _Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions_".

## Adaptations and parodies

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Flatland&action=edit&section=5 "Edit section: Adaptations and parodies")\]

Numerous imitations or sequels to _Flatland_ have been created. Examples include:

Films and TV

- _[Flatland](/w/index.php?title=Flatland_(1965_film)&action=edit&redlink=1 "Flatland (1965 film) (page does not exist)")_ (1965), an animated short film based on the novella, was directed by Eric Martin and based on an idea by [John Hubley](/wiki/John_Hubley "John Hubley").[\[11\]](#cite_note-11)[\[12\]](#cite_note-12)[\[13\]](#cite_note-13)
- _[Flatlandia](/w/index.php?title=Flatlandia_(1982_film)&action=edit&redlink=1 "Flatlandia (1982 film) (page does not exist)")_ (1982), an Italian animated short film, directed by Michele Emmer.[\[14\]](#cite_note-14)
- _[Flatland](/wiki/Flatland_(2007_Ehlinger_film) "Flatland (2007 Ehlinger film)")_ (2007), a 98-minute animated independent feature film version directed by [Ladd Ehlinger Jr.](/wiki/Ladd_Ehlinger_Jr. "Ladd Ehlinger Jr."), updates the satire from Victorian England to the modern-day United States.[\[15\]](#cite_note-flatlandthefilm-15)
- _[Flatland: The Movie](/wiki/Flatland_(2007_Johnson_and_Travis_film) "Flatland (2007 Johnson and Travis film)")_ (2007), by Dano Johnson and Jeffrey Travis,[\[16\]](#cite_note-16) is a 34-minute animated educational film.[\[17\]](#cite_note-17) Its sequel was _[Flatland 2: Sphereland](/wiki/Flatland_2:_Sphereland "Flatland 2: Sphereland")_ (2012), inspired by the novel _[Sphereland](/wiki/Sphereland "Sphereland")_ by [Dionys Burger](/wiki/Dionys_Burger "Dionys Burger").[\[18\]](#cite_note-18)[\[19\]](#cite_note-19)[\[20\]](#cite_note-20)
- In the _[Star Trek: The Next Generation](/wiki/Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation "Star Trek: The Next Generation")_ episode " [The Loss](/wiki/The_Loss "The Loss")", the [USS _Enterprise_-D](/wiki/USS_Enterprise_(NCC-1701-D) "USS Enterprise (NCC-1701-D)") becomes trapped within a field of two-dimensional lifeforms.[\[21\]](#cite_note-21)

Literature

Books and short stories inspired by _Flatland_ include:\[ _[citation needed](/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed "Wikipedia:Citation needed")_\]

- _[An Episode on Flatland: Or How a Plain Folk Discovered the Third Dimension](/w/index.php?title=An_Episode_on_Flatland:_Or_How_a_Plain_Folk_Discovered_the_Third_Dimension&action=edit&redlink=1 "An Episode on Flatland: Or How a Plain Folk Discovered the Third Dimension (page does not exist)")_ by [Charles Howard Hinton](/wiki/Charles_Howard_Hinton "Charles Howard Hinton") (1907)
- _[The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics](/wiki/The_Dot_and_the_Line "The Dot and the Line")_ by [Norton Juster](/wiki/Norton_Juster "Norton Juster") (1963)
- _[Sphereland](/wiki/Sphereland "Sphereland")_ by [Dionys Burger](/wiki/Dionys_Burger "Dionys Burger") (1965)
- _[The Incredible Umbrella](/w/index.php?title=The_Incredible_Umbrella&action=edit&redlink=1 "The Incredible Umbrella (page does not exist)")_ by [Marvin Kaye](/wiki/Marvin_Kaye "Marvin Kaye") (1980)
- " [Message Found in a Copy of _Flatland_"](/w/index.php?title=Message_Found_in_a_Copy_of_Flatland%22&action=edit&redlink=1 "Message Found in a Copy of Flatland\" (page does not exist)") by [Rudy Rucker](/wiki/Rudy_Rucker "Rudy Rucker") (1983)
- _[The Planiverse](/wiki/The_Planiverse "The Planiverse")_ by [A. K. Dewdney](/wiki/A._K._Dewdney "A. K. Dewdney") (1984)
- _[Flatterland](/wiki/Flatterland "Flatterland")_ by [Ian Stewart](/wiki/Ian_Stewart_(mathematician) "Ian Stewart (mathematician)") (2001)
- _[Spaceland](/wiki/Spaceland_(novel) "Spaceland (novel)")_ by [Rudy Rucker](/wiki/Rudy_Rucker "Rudy Rucker") (2002)
- _[VAS: An Opera in Flatland](/wiki/VAS:_An_Opera_in_Flatland "VAS: An Opera in Flatland")_ (2002) by [Steve Tomasula](/wiki/Steve_Tomasula "Steve Tomasula"), which uses the two-dimensional world to critique contemporary society[\[22\]](#cite_note-22)

## In popular culture

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Flatland&action=edit&section=6 "Edit section: In popular culture")\]

- Physicists and science popularizers [Carl Sagan](/wiki/Carl_Sagan "Carl Sagan") and [Stephen Hawking](/wiki/Stephen_Hawking "Stephen Hawking") have both commented on and postulated about the effects of _Flatland_. Sagan recreates the [thought experiment](/wiki/Thought_experiment "Thought experiment") as a set-up to discussing the possibilities of higher dimensions of the physical universe in both the [book](/wiki/Cosmos_(Sagan_book) "Cosmos (Sagan book)") and [television series _Cosmos_](/wiki/Cosmos:_A_Personal_Voyage "Cosmos: A Personal Voyage"),[\[23\]](#cite_note-Sagan-23) whereas Hawking notes the peculiarity of life in two-dimensional space, as any inhabitants would necessarily be unable to digest their own food. (This concept is parodied in the below-described episode of _Futurama_. The protagonists attempt to eat Flatland food but it falls out immediately. The native organisms in Flatland absorb food somewhat like [amoeba](/wiki/Amoeba "Amoeba").)[\[24\]](#cite_note-Hawking-24)
- _[The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2](/wiki/The_League_of_Extraordinary_Gentlemen,_Volume_2 "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume 2")_, issue 3, in chapter 3 of the series of writings _New Traveller's Almanac_, it is mentioned that in an unknown basement of [New York](/wiki/New_York_(state) "New York (state)"), Flatland was discovered by a mathematician.
- In the " [2-D Blacktop](/wiki/2-D_Blacktop "2-D Blacktop")" episode of the animated science fiction TV comedy series _[Futurama](/wiki/Futurama "Futurama")_ (season 10 episode 1, originally broadcast June 17, 2013), two spaceships moving at [relativistic speeds](/wiki/Relativistic_speed "Relativistic speed") crash head on and are compressed together into a flat disk. They meet natives of the realm, who chase after them when the concept of a third dimension is brought up.[\[25\]](#cite_note-25)
- In [David Foster Wallace](/wiki/David_Foster_Wallace "David Foster Wallace")'s novel _[Infinite Jest](/wiki/Infinite_Jest "Infinite Jest")_ (1996), it is briefly mentioned that students from the Enfield Tennis Academy could be seen studying and highlighting copies of _Flatland_ on the bus.[\[26\]](#cite_note-26)
- _Flatland_ features in _[The Big Bang Theory](/wiki/The_Big_Bang_Theory "The Big Bang Theory")_ episode "The Psychic Vortex",[\[27\]](#cite_note-Psychic_Vortex-27) when [Sheldon Cooper](/wiki/Sheldon_Cooper "Sheldon Cooper") declares it one of his favourite imaginary places to visit.[\[28\]](#cite_note-Sheldon-28)
- On the series _[The Orville](/wiki/The_Orville "The Orville")_, episode "New Dimensions", after entering a region of two-dimensional space Captain Ed Mercer references Flatland and its theme of social hierarchy.[\[29\]](#cite_note-29)
- In the _[Sons of Anarchy](/wiki/Sons_of_Anarchy "Sons of Anarchy")_ episode "Straw", Clay Morrow is lounging on a cot in a private cell in county jail when he first meets retired [U.S. Marshal](/wiki/United_States_Marshals_Service "United States Marshals Service") Lee Toric. Morrow half-ignores Toric while keeping his eyes on a copy of _Flatland_.
- In _[Gravity Falls](/wiki/Gravity_Falls "Gravity Falls"),_ it is implied by the main antagonist [Bill Cipher](/wiki/Bill_Cipher "Bill Cipher") that he originates from a dimension very similar to Flatland.
- In the [Gravity Falls](/wiki/Gravity_Falls "Gravity Falls") book titled " [The Book of Bill](/wiki/Book_of_Bill "Book of Bill")" a picture of Flatland's cover is shown on a TV screen on the chapter titled "My Story".
- The novel appears in the film _[Interstellar](/wiki/Interstellar_(film) "Interstellar (film)")_.[\[30\]](#cite_note-30)
- In the 1964 episode of [Outer Limits](/wiki/Outer_Limits "Outer Limits") “Behold Eck!” a 2-dimensional creature accidentally visits earth through a time-hole and causes some damage before it can get back home.

## See also

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Flatland&action=edit&section=7 "Edit section: See also")\]

- _[The Dot and the Line](/wiki/The_Dot_and_the_Line "The Dot and the Line")_
- [Fourth dimension in literature](/wiki/Fourth_dimension_in_literature "Fourth dimension in literature")
- _[Gödel, Escher, Bach](/wiki/G%C3%B6del,_Escher,_Bach "Gödel, Escher, Bach")_
- _[The Planiverse](/wiki/The_Planiverse "The Planiverse")_
- [Sphere-world](/wiki/Sphere-world "Sphere-world")

## References

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Flatland&action=edit&section=8 "Edit section: References")\]

01. **[^](#cite_ref-1)**Abbott, Edwin A. (1884). _Flatland: A Romance in Many Dimensions_. New York: Dover Thrift Edition (1992 unabridged). p. ii.
02. ^ [_**a**_](#cite_ref-isbn0-465-01123-3_1_2-0) [_**b**_](#cite_ref-isbn0-465-01123-3_1_2-1)Stewart, Ian (2008). _The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions_. New York: Basic Books. pp. xiii. [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0-465-01123-0](/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-465-01123-0 "Special:BookSources/978-0-465-01123-0").
03. **[^](#cite_ref-3)**Rehmeyer, Julie (29 July 2013). ["Review of _Flatland: The Movie_ and _Flatland 2: Sphereland_"](https://www.sciencenews.org/article/flatland-and-its-sequel-bring-math-higher-dimensions-silver-screen). _[Science News](/wiki/Science_News "Science News")_. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
04. **[^](#cite_ref-4)**["Flatlander, n. meanings, etymology and more \| Oxford English Dictionary"](https://www.oed.com/dictionary/flatlander_n?tab=factsheet&tl=true). _www.oed.com_. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
05. **[^](#cite_ref-5)**Abbott, Edwin A. (1884) [Flatland](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Flatland_(first_edition)/Other_Worlds "wikisource:Flatland (first edition)/Other Worlds"), _Part II, § 20.—How the Sphere encouraged me in a Vision_, p 92
06. **[^](#cite_ref-6)**Abbott, Edwin A. (1952) \[1884\], _Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions_ (6th ed.), New York: Dover, p. 31, [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [0-486-20001-9](/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-486-20001-9 "Special:BookSources/0-486-20001-9")
07. **[^](#cite_ref-isbn0-465-01123-3_3_7-0)**Stewart, Ian (2008). _The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions_. New York: Basic Books. pp. xvii. [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0-465-01123-0](/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-465-01123-0 "Special:BookSources/978-0-465-01123-0").
08. **[^](#cite_ref-Flatland_Reviews_8-0)**["Flatland Reviews"](http://www.math.brown.edu/~banchoff/abbott/Flatland/Reviews/index.shtml). Retrieved 2 April 2011.
09. **[^](#cite_ref-isbn0-465-01123-3_4_9-0)**Stewart, Ian (2008). [_The Annotated Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions_](https://archive.org/details/annotatedflatlan00stew). New York: Basic Books. pp. [11](https://archive.org/details/annotatedflatlan00stew/page/n41). [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0-465-01123-0](/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-465-01123-0 "Special:BookSources/978-0-465-01123-0").
10. **[^](#cite_ref-urlFlatland_Reviews_10-0)**["Flatland Reviews – Nature, February 1920"](http://www.math.brown.edu/~banchoff/abbott/Flatland/Reviews/1920nature.shtml). Retrieved 2 April 2011.
11. **[^](#cite_ref-11)**[_Flatland_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0823212/) at [IMDb](/wiki/IMDb_(identifier) "IMDb (identifier)")[![Edit this at Wikidata](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png)](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q123581640#P345 "Edit this at Wikidata")
12. **[^](#cite_ref-12)**["DER Documentary: Flatland"](http://www.der.org/films/flatland.html). Retrieved 11 October 2012.
13. **[^](#cite_ref-13)**["Flatland Animation: The project"](http://flatlandanimation.blogspot.com/2011/05/project.html). Retrieved 11 October 2012.
14. **[^](#cite_ref-14)**["IMDB: Flatlandia"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0121289/). _[IMDb](/wiki/IMDb "IMDb")_.
15. **[^](#cite_ref-flatlandthefilm_15-0)**[" _Flatland the Film_"](http://www.flatlandthefilm.com). Retrieved 14 January 2007.
16. **[^](#cite_ref-16)**[" _Flatland: The Movie_"](http://www.flatlandthemovie.com). Retrieved 14 January 2007.
17. **[^](#cite_ref-17)**["IMDB Flatland: The Movie"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814106/). _[IMDb](/wiki/IMDb "IMDb")_.
18. **[^](#cite_ref-18)**[" _Flatland 2: Sphereland_"](http://www.spherelandthemovie.com).
19. **[^](#cite_ref-19)**[_Flatland 2: Sphereland_](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2062960/) at [IMDb](/wiki/IMDb_(identifier) "IMDb (identifier)")[![Edit this at Wikidata](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png)](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q123581639#P345 "Edit this at Wikidata")
20. **[^](#cite_ref-20)**[GeekDad.com Review of Flatland: The Movie and Flatland 2: Sphereland](http://geekdad.com/2013/06/flatland-and-sphereland/)
21. **[^](#cite_ref-21)**["The Loss"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0708805/). _The Internet Movie Database_. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
22. **[^](#cite_ref-22)**Vanderborg, Susan (Fall 2008). "Of 'Men and Mutations': The Art of Reproduction in Fatland". _Journal of Artistic Books_ (24): 4–11.
23. **[^](#cite_ref-Sagan_23-0)**Tremlin, Todd (2006). [_Minds and Gods: The Cognitive Foundations of Religion_](https://books.google.com/books?id=BLKvDNpSvBAC&pg=PA91). USA: Oxford University Press. p. 91. [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0199739011](/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0199739011 "Special:BookSources/978-0199739011").
24. **[^](#cite_ref-Hawking_24-0)**Gott, J. Richard (21 May 2001). [_Time Travel in Einstein's Universe: The Physical Possibilities of Travel through Time_](https://archive.org/details/timetravelineins00gott). USA: Houghton Mifflin Company. p. [61](https://archive.org/details/timetravelineins00gott/page/61). [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [978-0395955635](/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0395955635 "Special:BookSources/978-0395955635"). a brief history of time flatland.
25. **[^](#cite_ref-25)**Nicholson, Max ["Futurama: "2-D Blacktop" Review"](https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/06/20/futurama-2-d-blacktop-review) _[IGN](/wiki/IGN "IGN")_
26. **[^](#cite_ref-26)**Wallace, David Foster (2006). _Infinite Jest_. Back Bay Books. p. 281. [ISBN](/wiki/ISBN_(identifier) "ISBN (identifier)") [0316066524](/wiki/Special:BookSources/0316066524 "Special:BookSources/0316066524").
27. **[^](#cite_ref-Psychic_Vortex_27-0)**VanDerWerff, Emily. ["The Big Bang Theory: "The Psychic Vortex""](http://www.avclub.com/tvclub/the-big-bang-theory-the-psychic-vortex-36976). _A.V. Club_. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
28. **[^](#cite_ref-Sheldon_28-0)**["Flatland Featured on The Big Bang Theory on CBS Television"](http://www.giantscreencinema.com/News/tabid/70/ctl/ViewItem/mid/528/ItemId/730/Default.aspx?SkinSrc=/Portals/_default/Skins/NewSkinner/News&ContainerSrc=/Portals/_default/Containers/NewSkinner/Basic). Giant Screen Cinema Association. Retrieved 14 March 2014.
29. **[^](#cite_ref-29)**"New Dimensions". [_The Orville_](/wiki/The_Orville "The Orville"). Season 1. Episode 11. 30 November 2017. Fox.
30. **[^](#cite_ref-30)**Valcarel, Josh. ["9 Easter Eggs From the Bookshelf in Interstellar"](https://www.wired.com/2014/11/interstellar-murphs-library/#x). _[Wired](/wiki/Wired_(magazine) "Wired (magazine)")_.

## External links

\[ [edit](/w/index.php?title=Flatland&action=edit&section=9 "Edit section: External links")\]

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[Wikisource](/wiki/Wikisource "Wikisource") has original text related to this article:

**[Flatland](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Special:Search/Flatland "wikisource:Special:Search/Flatland")**

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Flatland (novella)](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Flatland_(novella) "commons:Category:Flatland (novella)").

- ["Sci-Fri Bookclub"](https://www.npr.org/2012/09/21/161551778/the-scifri-book-club-visits-flatland)—recording of National Public Radio discussion of _Flatland_, featuring mathematician Ian Stewart (21 September 2012)

### Online and downloadable versions of the text

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eBooks

- [_Flatland, a Romance of Many Dimensions (first edition)_](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Flatland_(first_edition) "wikisource:Flatland (first edition)") on Wikisource
- [_Flatland, a Romance of Many Dimensions (second edition)_](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Flatland_(second_edition) "wikisource:Flatland (second edition)") on Wikisource
- _[Flatland](https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/97)_ at [Project Gutenberg](/wiki/Project_Gutenberg "Project Gutenberg")
- [_Flatland_](https://fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20140519) at [Faded Page](/wiki/Distributed_Proofreaders_Canada "Distributed Proofreaders Canada") (Canada)
- _[Flatland](https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/edwin-a-abbott/flatland)_ at [Standard Ebooks](/wiki/Standard_Ebooks "Standard Ebooks")
- [_Flatland_](https://archive.org/details/flatlandromanceo00abbouoft), digitised copy of the first edition from the [Internet Archive](/wiki/Internet_Archive "Internet Archive")
- [_Flatland_ (Second Edition), Revised with original illustrations](http://www.geom.uiuc.edu/~banchoff/Flatland/) (HTML format, one page)
- [_Flatland_ (Fifth Edition), Revised, with original illustrations](http://xahlee.org/wordy/flatland/index.html) ( [HTML](/wiki/HTML "HTML") format, one chapter per page)
- [_Flatland_ (Fifth Edition), Revised, with original illustrations](https://github.com/Ivesvdf/flatland/blob/master/oneside_a4.pdf?raw=true) ( [PDF](/wiki/PDF "PDF") format, all pages, with LaTeX source on [github](https://github.com/Ivesvdf/flatland))
- [_Flatland_](http://manybooks.net/titles/abbottedetext95flat10a.html) (illustrated version) on Manybooks
- [Flatland](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL118420W) at [Open Library](/wiki/Open_Library "Open Library")

Recording

- ![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Speaker_Icon.svg/15px-Speaker_Icon.svg.png)[_Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions_](https://librivox.org/search?title=Flatland:+A+Romance+of+Many+Dimensions&author=Abbott&reader=&keywords=&genre_id=0&status=all&project_type=either&recorded_language=&sort_order=catalog_date&search_page=1&search_form=advanced) public domain audiobook at [LibriVox](/wiki/LibriVox "LibriVox")

- [v](/wiki/Template:Flatland "Template:Flatland")
- [t](/wiki/Template_talk:Flatland "Template talk:Flatland")
- [e](/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Flatland "Special:EditPage/Template:Flatland")

[Edwin Abbott Abbott's](/wiki/Edwin_Abbott_Abbott "Edwin Abbott Abbott") _Flatland_

Sequels

- _[Sphereland](/wiki/Sphereland "Sphereland")_ (1965)
- _[Flatterland](/wiki/Flatterland "Flatterland")_ (2001)

Related works

- _[The Planiverse](/wiki/The_Planiverse "The Planiverse")_
- _[Spaceland](/wiki/Spaceland_(novel) "Spaceland (novel)")_
- _[The Dot and the Line](/wiki/The_Dot_and_the_Line "The Dot and the Line")_

Film adaptations

- _[Flatland](/wiki/Flatland_(2007_Ehlinger_film) "Flatland (2007 Ehlinger film)")_ (2007)
- _[Flatland: The Movie](/wiki/Flatland_(2007_Johnson_and_Travis_film) "Flatland (2007 Johnson and Travis film)")_ (2007 short film)
- _[Flatland 2: Sphereland](/wiki/Flatland_2:_Sphereland "Flatland 2: Sphereland")_ (2012 short film)

Themes

- [Blind men and an elephant](/wiki/Blind_men_and_an_elephant "Blind men and an elephant")
- [Dimensions](/wiki/Dimension "Dimension")
- [Space](/wiki/Space "Space")

[Authority control databases](/wiki/Help:Authority_control "Help:Authority control")[![Edit this at Wikidata](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/8a/OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg/10px-OOjs_UI_icon_edit-ltr-progressive.svg.png)](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q728312#identifiers "Edit this at Wikidata")

- [MusicBrainz work](https://musicbrainz.org/work/23998a46-f052-4fd1-b339-97070a5f4570)
- [MusicBrainz release group](https://musicbrainz.org/release-group/87bdf98d-a1f1-4c66-a256-0f4c0e9a0646)

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