EngineeredTheology

I’ve learned that in literature there are two types of classics. There are those classics that really should be read because they are important. They are so well written, inspiring, and thought provoking that they have a timeless quality. Then there are classics that were important when they were written, but when they are read years later one of the only things learned is that the book really would have been better off it was kept on the shelf. Flatland is definitely the second kind of classic.

I think one of the reasons some classics are better left on the shelf is that many of them deal with their contemporary issues. They are social commentaries that were incredibly insightful, but when we are no longer in the culture those subtle metaphors get subtly lost. This is what happens when I read books like Gulliver’s Travels. I finish the book and think, my God that was aweful. How did that turn into a classic?

Flatland has some ground-breaking views of helping readers wrap their mind around higher dimensional spaces – back in the 1800′s. It is written in the perspective of a square in 2D space, who comments on his surroundings, has visions of cultures in 1D space (lineland), and also a encounter where he is preached the gospel of 3D space. I also know it has some commentary aspects of the social culture at the time which seem a little odd to me because I am not up to speed on Victorian social norms. From a mathematics point of view, it breaches the topic that most people never concern themselves with – what would a being who lives with extra dimensionality appear like to us. This is marginally interesting because some theories (string theory) depend on extra dimensionality of space. As for the book though, it really is best left as a book that is talked about and not actually read.