书名：Flatland A Romance of Many Dimensions 平面国：一个多维的传奇故事

作者：Edwin A. Abbott
出版社名称：Signet Classics
出版时间：2013
语种：英文
ISBN：9780451417855
商品尺寸：10.6 x 1.2 x 17.1 cm
包装：简装
页数：176 （以实物为准）
Flatland A Romance of Many Dimensions《平面国：一个多维的传奇故事》是一本虚幻小说，书中的主人公是一个正方形，生活在二维空间里。全书分为两部分。一部分描述平面国的社会状况：统治阶层与被统治阶层之间的予盾和斗争，妇女的卑微地位和苦况。二部分通过主人公正方形与三维世界来客——圆球——的邂逅，述说正方形如何认识立体物体和三维空间。读者从中可以初步了解更高维空间的知识。

本书为Signet Classics推出的英文原版，由Valerie Smith写导言，John Allen Paulos写后记，内容完整无删减，书本轻巧便携。

With wry humor and penetrating satire, Flatlandtakes us on a mind-expanding journey into a different world to give us a new vision of our own. A. Square, the slightly befuddled narrator, is born into a place limited to two dimensions—irrevocably flat—and peopled by a hierarchy of geometrical forms. In a Gulliver-like tour of his bizarre homeland, A. Square spins a fascinating tale of domestic drama and political turmoil, from sex among consenting triangles to the intentional subjugation of Flatland’s females. He tells of visits to Lineland, the world of one dimension, and Pointland, the world of no dimension. But when A. Square dares to speak openly of a third, or even a fourth, dimension, his tragic fate climaxes a brilliant parody of Victorian society. An underground favorite since its publication in England in1884, Flatland is as prophetic a science fiction classic as the works of H. G. Wells, introducing aspects of relativity and hyperspace years before Einstein’s famous theories. And it does so with wonderful, enduring enchantment.
With an Introduction by Valerie Smith and a New Afterword by John Allen Paulos.

当平面国的人遭遇零维国、一维国、二维国和三维国的生命后，他们开始了大争论：平面国中的人启发一维国（就是一条直线）的人左右移动被斥为一派胡言；三维世界中的人启发平面国的人上下移动也从未成功；而零维国（就是一个点）的人干脆认为他就是整个世界……

Edwin A. Abbott (1838–1926), a Victorian of great intellect and wit, enjoyed success not only as a writer, but as a scholar, educator, and theologian. Educated at St. John’s College, Cambridge, he was Headmaster of the City of London School from 1865 to 1889. During that time, his progressive belief in the importance of the study of English for every student, even before traditional classic curriculum, led him to write A Shakespearian Grammar (1870) “to help solve most of the difficulties that will present themselves to boys.” It ran to three editions within its first year of publication alone and continues to be a touchstone for Shakespearean scholars. In 1884, he wrote Flatland. First considered by many as merely “a pleasant tonic, and an excellent stimulant for boys,” it was later recognized as a magnificent work of science fiction, as prophetic as those of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells. Retiring to a scholarly life in 1889, he produced numerous other works, including Silanus the Christian (1907), Apologia: An Explanation and Defense (1907), Message of the Son of Man (1909), and Light on the Gospel from an Ancient Poet (Odes of Solomon) (1913).
 
Valerie M. Smith earned her PhD from the University of Connecticut. An associate professor of English at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, she is currently at work on a manuscript entitled Crossroads: Cultural Autobiography and Imperial Discourse.
 
John Allen Paulos is a Professor of Mathematics at Temple University and the bestselling author of eight books including Innumeracy, A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper, and Once upon a Number. He has been a columnist for ABCNews.com, Scientific American, and the Guardian, as well as the author of numerous reviews, articles, and op-ed pieces for a variety of publications. Among his many honors are the American Association for the Advancement of Science Award for Promoting Public Understanding of Science and the 2013 Mathematics Communication Award from the Joint Policy Board for Mathematics.
As with you, so also with us, there are four points of the compass North, South, East and West.

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