Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Ferrari impressions. Ferraris in Flatland, perhaps. I am thinking of A.E.Abbott's wonderful little story


Here is Abbott's two-dimensional hero attempting to convert another Flatland creature to his newly discovered notion of a third dimension:

"Not at all silly," said I, losing my temper; "here for example, I take this Square," and, at the word, I grasped a moveable Square, which was lying at hand—"and I move it, you see, not Northward but—yes, I move it Upward—that is to say, not Northward, but I move it somewhere—not exactly like this, but somehow—" Here I brought my sentence to an inane conclusion, shaking the Square about in a purposeless manner, much to the amusement of my Grandson, who burst out laughing louder than ever, and declared that I was not teaching him, but joking with him; and so saying he unlocked the door and ran out of the room. Thus ended my first attempt to convert a pupil to the Gospel of Three Dimensions.

I imagine myself shaking the shadows in some higher dimension, producing Ferraris out of the impressions they leave behind. How amusing!

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