Flatland

[calvin]

anyone see either of the Flatland movies made last year? one was directed by Dano Johnson and starred Martin Sheen, Tony Hale (Buster from Arrested Development) and some other big name actors. The other was an indie film directed by Ladd Ehlinger Jr. both are animated films.

i haven't seen the Dano Johnson film yet, but i can tell you that Ladd Ehlinger Jr.'s adaptation was absolutely brilliant--easily one of the funniest and most creative sci-fi films i've seen in recent years.

if you've never heard of Flatland, it's a mathematical satire/religious allegory by Edwin A. Abbott, an English schoolmaster and theologian from the mid 19th century.

i was first introduced to the story when i was in perhaps 2nd or 3rd grade and my dad bought me a children's book on science and physics. i don't remember the name of it as the book was in mandarin (back when i could still read mandarin), but it contained a short comic strip adapted from the Flatland story. even at that age the concept of Flatland intrigued me with its ingenious method of explaining the relationship between dimensions.

Isaac Asimov himself wrote the forward to one of the publications of Flatland, and described it as, "The best introduction one can find into the manner of perceiving dimensions."