The Planiverse: Computer Contact with a Two-Dimensional World - Softcover

Dewdney, A.K.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0387989161 ISBN 13: 9780387989167

Publisher: Copernicus, 2000

Synopsis

The year is 1981, and in the computer lab of a large university a group of graduate students and their professor are hard at work on their mainframe, graphically modeling an imaginary two-dimensional world. The project is going well, extraordinarily well, when one student suddenly notices that the world they are building with their graphics program is . . . inhabited! So begins A.K. DewdneyÕs newly republished 1984 tale of trans-dimensional discovery and communication. The students and their professor find, to their astonishment, that they are communicating with Yendred, their only contact in the 2D world of Arde. At first disbelieving, they are soon entranced by a universe in which astonishing tiny creaturesÑindeed an entire astonishing worldÑexist solely on an x-y plane. This book, following in the footsteps Edward AbbotÕs nineteenth century classic Flatland, is a cult favorite among mathematicians and computer scientists. As a kind of mental puzzle or brain-teaser, it challenges and delights, inviting readers to imagine just how a two-dimensional world might work. But the book is also a parable, serving as a cautionary tale about the difficulties of communication from one totally alien world to another, and suggesting that it is not only two-dimensional Ardeans who fail to see beyond the the obvious world before their eyes.

About this title

Review

"it gently approaches a relatively 'new' universe of ideas, inventions and conjectures..." -- The Computer Journal, Official Journal of the British Computer Society, Vol. 45 , Issue 5, 2002

Synopsis

"The Planiverse" is a classic book about life in a two-dimensional universe. A.K. Dewdney is a well-known author, and this is a well-known book, which is now brought back into print in a revised and updated edition. The book is written within the great tradition of Abbott's "Flatland", and Hinton's famous "Sphereland". Accessible, imaginative, clever, the book will appeal to a wide array of readers, from serious mathematicians and computer scientists, to science fiction fans.

Edition details

• Publisher: Copernicus
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0387989161
• ISBN 13: 9780387989167
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 278