A Romance of Many Dimensions
Author: Edwin A. Abbott
Genre: science fiction?
Publication info: Oxford World's Classics, 2006 (originally published in 1884)
Pages: 124 (including notes)
I mentioned the Childcraft books in my last post. I don't know if those books are still around, but it is thanks to those books that I also heard about Flatland. I feel bad for people that grew up without Childcraft.
Anyway, I'd been meaning to read this book for a long time, having always been interested in math and especially in the theory of multiple dimensions. So I finally bought a copy of this book in Oxford during my trip to the British Isles last summer (I thought it would be fun to be able to say, "Yes, I bought that novel in Oxford. Would you like a digestive?"). And then, a few months after finally buying it, I finally read it.
As you might guess, Flatland is the story of a world of only two dimensions. How can a story about a two-dimensional world be "a romance of many dimensions," you ask? Good question. Basically it works by analogy. We are introduced to the narrator, A. Square, who gives us a detailed description of his world and how his society functions. This first part of the book is less of a math treatise and more of a social satire, but it's still pretty interesting.
But the second half of the book is where the good stuff starts. First A. Square has a vision of a place called Lineland, a world that exists entirely on—you guessed it—one line. A. Square wonders how anyone could live in such a world. But the one-dimensional people can't imagine anything better. Just as A. Square can't imagine anything beyond his two-dimensional world. Just as we three-dimensional beings can't imagine . . . See where this is going?
Well, after A. Square's vision of Lineland, he has an even more interesting experience: a visit from a sphere, a resident of Spaceland. This otherworldy being teaches our incredulous narrator about the nature of three dimensions. As this goes on, we begin to see what it might be like to live in four dimensions or more. It's really fun to think about, but it can also be pretty mind-blowing. Imagine the things we could do, the ways we could move and interact, the methods by which we could travel. It's great exercise for the mind.
But I also believe it's more than that. I think this vision of multi-dimensional worlds gives us a glimpse into the workings of God. If all things past, present, and future are before Him, then I think this is a sensible way to imagine that concept. Just as a three-dimensional being can survey a two-dimensional world all at once from above, I think God looks on our world in a very similar way. Just how many dimensions does God have? That's a matter of speculation. But I think this is one of the reasons God is incomprehensible to us. As it says in Isaiah, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" (55:8).
Just something to think about. That's why I loved Flatland so much: it really got me thinking.
