![]() ![]() It takes some work for Sphere to convince Square of Sphere’s true nature (after all, with his two-dimensional eyes, Square can only see a line that claims to be a Sphere). Then one day, Sphere appears in his sitting-room. He has no tools to conceive of a third dimensional shape, such as a sphere. Square, is a successful shape who is entirely content with his height-less world because he cannot envision anything else. This is the world that Edwin Abbott envisions in his classic 1884 novel, Flatland. If he’s approaching with you with his sharp point, he just might run you through. An isosceles triangle would like this -, if he’s approaching you with his base. So any approaching square would look like this: -–. How would such a world look to you? How could you tell the difference between your best friend the equilateral triangle and your boss, the octagon? There are no aerial views: you can only see the sides of your fellow shapes. In fact, you are only a shape and your world is two-dimensional. And not only are you flat, but everyone and everything in your world is also flat. Imagine that you were flat as a pancake – flatter, even. ![]()
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