Flatterland

Flatterland

Company type	Book
Industry	Literature, Mathematics
Founded	2001
Founder	Ian Stewart
Products	Non-Euclidean geometry, mathematics concepts

Flatterland is a 2001 publication authored by mathematician and science communicator Ian Stewart, which delves into non-Euclidean geometry. This work acts as a continuation of the 1884 dimensional novel Flatland.

Plot summary

Almost one hundred years after the tale of A. (Albert) Square in Flatland, his great-great-granddaughter Victoria Line, known as Vikki, uncovers his book. She tries to call forth a sphere from Spaceland but instead encounters the "Space Hopper," a creature resembling a spherical children's toy with horns. The Space Hopper possesses the ability to traverse the entire Mathiverse, representing all conceivable universes. He guides Vikki through advanced dimensions and introduces contemporary mathematical ideas such as fractional dimensions, isolated points, topology, and hyperbolic geometry. Their explorations include visiting the Projective "Plain" inhabited by intersecting "lions" and investigating phenomena at the quantum scale. Their adventure leads them to the Domain of the Hawk King, where they engage in discussions about time travel and theory of relativity.

How to Escape from a Black Hole

The narrative demonstrates a method for escaping a black hole using a time-travel framework:

1. Begin outside the boundary of the black hole.
2. After entering, a future version of yourself (4) hands over a portable white hole device for escape.
3. Another future self (6) provides a time machine.
4. You return inside the black hole to supply your past self (2) with the white hole.
5. Utilizing the time machine, you leap far ahead to an era when the black hole has dissipated through Hawking radiation.
6. Next, you go back to give your earlier self (3) the time machine.
7. Ultimately, you emerge outside the black hole.

In this sequence, the dashed red line represents the portable white hole's path; the dashed blue line follows the time machine's trajectory. Upward movement generally indicates progression through time.

Real-world references

Ian Stewart weaves in wordplay and cultural allusions tailored to his readership:

• The main character Victoria Line and her mother Jubilee Line are named after lines on the London Underground.
• Surnames such as Albert Square and Grosvenor Square allude to notable London locations and media references.
• The Hawk King character is a pun on astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, connecting to his research on Hawking radiation.
• Figures like Moobius and objects like the Klein bottle milk reference topological concepts.
• Characters such as Doughmouse, Harsh Mare, and Mud Hutter echo Carroll’s creations with added topological elements.

Editions

• First hardback edition, Macmillan
• Hardback edition, Perseus
• Paperback edition, Perseus
• Mass-market paperback, Pan