24.04.2014 Views

clifford_a-_pickover_surfing_through_hyperspacebookfi-org

clifford_a-_pickover_surfing_through_hyperspacebookfi-org

clifford_a-_pickover_surfing_through_hyperspacebookfi-org

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

THE DIVINITY OF HIGHER DIMENSIONS 47<br />

Figure 2.20 We can see all parts of a Flatland house simultaneously and look inside<br />

any room. (This is not a "blueprint" but an actual house in Flatland.) Similarly, a<br />

4-D being could look at all parts of our homes simultaneously. How could you hide?<br />

point is self-contained. Karl Heim enigmatically describes Pointland in Christian<br />

Faith and Natural Science: "There is nothing which is not within it." 6<br />

The Women of Flatland<br />

In Abbott's Flatland, society is rigidly stratified. Soldiers are isosceles triangles<br />

with very short bases and sharp points for attacking enemies. The middle class<br />

is composed of equilateral triangles. Professional men are squares and pentagons.<br />

The upper classes start as hexagons; the number of their sides increases<br />

with their social status until the figures are indistinguishable from circles. The<br />

circles are the priests and administrators of Flatland. At the lowest level are the<br />

women: straight lines with an eye at one end, like a needle. There is a visible<br />

glow from a woman's eye, but none from her other end, so that she can make

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!