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The Planiverse: Computer Contact with a Two-Dimensional World

by A.K. Dewdney (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 56 ratings
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When The Planiverse ?rst appeared 16 years ago, it caught more than a few readers off guard. The line between willing suspension of dis- lief and innocent acceptance, if it exists at all, is a thin one. There were those who wanted to believe, despite the tongue-in-cheek subtext, that we had made contact with a two-dimensional world called Arde, a di- shaped planet embedded in the skin of a vast, balloon-shaped space called the planiverse. It is tempting to imagine that those who believed, as well as those who suspended disbelief, did so because of a persuasive consistency in the cosmology and physics of this in?nitesimally thin universe, and x preface to the millennium edition in its bizarre but oddly workable organisms. This was not just your r- of-the-mill universe fashioned out of the whole cloth of wish-driven imagination. The planiverse is a weirder place than that precisely - cause so much of it was “worked out” by a virtual team of scientists and technologists. Reality, even thepseudoreality of such a place, is - variably stranger than anything we merely dream up.
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  1. ISBN-10
    0387989161
  2. ISBN-13
    978-0387989167
  3. Publisher
    Copernicus
  4. Publication date
    October 12, 2000
  5. Language
    English
  6. Dimensions
    6.1 x 0.64 x 9.25 inches
  7. Print length
    278 pages
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

The Planiverse ... stretches our imagination by introducing a new and different kind of world. In the process, it changes the way we look at our own. -- Discover Magazine

A worthy successor to Flatland. -- Thomas Banchoff, Nature

It's not everyone who gets to design a universe from scratch. But A.K. Dewdney has done just that. -- The Boston Globe

Once you have been captivated by the two-dimensional Ardean world, the problems facing its difficult technology haunt you, begging for more solutions. Arde easily becomes a puzzle without end. -- Erik Sandberg-Diment, The New York Times

About the Author

A.K. Dewdney is a mathematician, computer scientist, astronomer, engineer, and biologist. A member of the computer science department at the University of Western Ontario for 27 years, he retired in 1997, only to be appointed professor of Zoology at the same university in 1998 in recognition of his important biological work. Dewdney is the author of 11 books. He has been increasingly involved in environmental issues, mainly the habitat loss created by the expansion of human populations. Currently, most of the author's spare time is taken up by his work in a natural area close to his home, a 100-acre complex of forest and ponds. He and his wife are managing an ambitious bio-inventory of the area and have logged over 1,000 species.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Copernicus (October 12, 2000)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 278 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0387989161
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0387989167
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.64 x 9.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 56 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
56 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Damian
5.0 out of 5 stars I read this in 1984, much of it standing in the bookstore in the mall. I've been obsessed ever since.
Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2015
Verified Purchase
Genius. I'm writing this review with somewhat of a "Planiverse kicks Flatland's butt" juvenile treatment. But, most people think of a 2d world as the top down world as in the most famous book "Flatland" which is much more famous, but far less realistic. A discussion on Quora came up about the possibility of life in 2D, with maybe the 3rd dimension being time, and while there were many interesting ideas presented by PhD's and asked, I was absolutely stunned that no one mentioned "The Planiverse. This version of a 2D world is so logically coherent, people thought it was -discovered-, and a work of non-fiction. Perhaps it will be discovered someday. In Flatland , ( even a short film came out of it, i was disgusted after seeing some parts of it). There was a square , which could talk , and move, although it had no legs or visible means by which to propel itself. The only thing good about it was that inside his "head" was a printed circuit-like thing on which no wires could cross, they had to form intricate maze-like traces, and I guess this was supposed to be his brain. Yes, there are many practical uses for thinking and limiting a design in 2D dimensions even though we have three, even as a mental exercise or just for fun. I have been so obsessed, i went about trying to make a 2d World computer simulation in real time and I eventually did so, with the help of the Angry birds engine, and some Indonesian programmers I hired. With a decent 2D physics engine we designed our own biped and taught it to walk and run, using only muscles and bones for power. To show the realism , of course he need to walk on ropes , floating boats, and other reactive surfaces, or, edges. I was on the bottom side of the planet, immersed in an alien environment, and i worked on it for 7 years, and still do. All my exhilarating physical experiences, i wanted to express in 2 dimensions, because i could never do those physical interactions between nature and a being, justice in 3d. Walking, running, seeing, thinking , fighting, controlling airships, using swords and firearms, quadrupeds, fish, explosions, waves, even surfing on 2d waves and on air, ( which in 2d is much more powerful since it cannot go around you , it you are standing it must all flow over you. Simply raising an arm in a head wind will make it much more difficult to walk. Thinking of this world or observing it in its entirely from a dimension that the 2d creatures cannot fathom, gives you a God-like perspective, while at the same time a humble awareness of the beyond as it applies to us, this 4th dimension. Buy the book, read it. Google the game, ( its not hard to find) it not nearly finished, but its playable, and this a universe. I wish there were hundreds of people working on it with me. But Dewdney sourced many of his designs from graduate students and put together a meaningful and dramatic story, with a subtext of Sufism, around a setting which is enough of a reason initself to own it, just to read the technology, biology and cosmology, sections.
4 people found this helpful
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Rainchild
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book, Wrong Format
Reviewed in the United States on November 5, 2023
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Marketed as a computer-oriented book, "The Planiverse" is actually a fantasy in the tradition of "Flatland" which describes a two-dimensional world and the sapient creatures in it. As such, it's an excellent book.

It's unfortunate that the edition I ordered was labeled a hardcover because what I got was a paperback. Otherwise, I would have given this book five stars.
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William Carpenter
5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly Interesting Story of a 2D World
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2013
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The Planiverse: Computer Contact with a Two-Dimensional World  by A.K. Dewdney is a surprisingly interesting and moving fictional story about a college computer lab's accidental contact with a two-dimensional world. Much of the action of the story is driven by the mystical quest of Yendred, an interesting person from this alternative world.

As we follow Yendred on his journey and learn about his world, we also learn a lot about what the physics, chemistry, and biology of a two dimensional world could be like. The author even provides diagrams of a two dimensional steam engine and clock that can be constructed in a three dimensional model (with one dimension being only as thick as the material used for construction).

There are some annoying loose ends left at the end of this novel and it is not at all clear what the mystic that Yendred meets at the end of the book knows about the three dimensional world. Nevertheless, this is still a compelling and interesting tale 30 years after it was first published.
3 people found this helpful
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Steve Reina
5.0 out of 5 stars In creating a 2D world Dewdney expands our 3D vision
Reviewed in the United States on December 3, 2007
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This is a great book. By creating a 2D world Dewdney expands our 3D vision.

In reading this book I was reminded of not only Abbott's Flatland (which was the original inspiration) I was also reminded of Charles Hinton's Fourth Dimension and Choas Coincidence and All That Math Jazz.

In each work, the writers effectively used 2D analogies to give us an idea of what 4D space might be like.

What Dewdney did however was to build detail into what has always been a simple model and thereby give greater detail to the potentialities of our vision.

While others have said that this book would be great for mathematicians I would offer that this book is great for anyone seeking to expand their horizons.

As Henry David Thoreau wrote in concluding his Walden: "There is more light to day than dawn. The sun is but a morningstar!"

Read this book and others like it and bask in the light of that morningstar!
5 people found this helpful
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T. Paris
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Educational.
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2018
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Well written. Exercise your brain trying to think in 2D.
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Alexander R. Pruss
5.0 out of 5 stars Really fun book
Reviewed in the United States on May 22, 2012
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A high school math teacher recommended this to me long ago. I enjoyed this much more than the better known Flatland. Dewdney really puts a lot of effort into working out how a two-dimensional world could work and has lots of fun nitty-gritty detail. This is one of my favorite books ever. I got it recently for my nine-year-old daughter, and she loved it, too.
One person found this helpful
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Trelligan
3.0 out of 5 stars The author should stick to math over fiction
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2014
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The author should stick to math over fiction.

While the writing is okay, I found characterization and motivation weak and the plotline wandering. It's yet another rehash of the computer 'coming alive' somehow, though this time the computer is 'just' tapping into another dimension.
This was written in 1984 and reads like it.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Andrew Gardiner
5.0 out of 5 stars ... lent this not long after it was released and loved it. Spent far too many years fruitlessly trying ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 21, 2016
Verified Purchase
Was lent this not long after it was released and loved it. Spent far too many years fruitlessly trying to find it again to re-read - I'd forgotten the title and the author and only knew the crux of the story so it was a bit difficult. Eventually spotted it here. The ordering and delivery was painless, it arrived quickly and is as fascinating a read as I remember it to be.
One person found this helpful
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J B
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on September 20, 2016
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Awesome book! So fun!
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MAsse
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on July 20, 2015
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Really make you think with a different state of mind
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a very good book for mathsy people
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 25, 2017
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This is a very good book for mathsy people. The author makes many interesting observations about 2D physics. Most of them make sense after some explanation but some of them require the reader to program advanced computer simulations to find explanation to. Maybe this was the intention of the author.
One person found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Planiverse
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 14, 2017
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A fabulous book.
One person found this helpful
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