Perception is not always reality

[apparentparadox]

I find the whole "perception vs. reality" a fascinating subject. I'm reading several books right now that have different aspects of this.

Flatterland is a "sequel" to Flatland (one of the worlds greatest books). Basically, the author wanted to add new ideas that hadn't been around when Flatland was written. As with the original, much of the book

Comments

[pklexton]

These both sound interesting. I agree that people who can't conceive of their own fallibility are scary. Of course, you can go too far the other way too, and become paralyzed by uncertainty. The key is to find the right balance between the two - open minded enough to be able to grow, and yet principled enough so as not to lose all direction. I wish had a reliable test to find that balance in all situations.

[fyellin]

Does Flatlander include a nearly impossible to find typo in the table of contents, like the original?

[fyellin]

D'oh. I can read. That was supposed to be Flatterland, not Flatlander.

[apparentparadox]

I'm not sure -- I didn't know there was a typo in the table of contents of the original. If I had all my books unpacked, I could go look, but there are still several boxes of books awaiting a future date when room use is decided an bookshelves appear.

[fyellin]

It's very difficult to find. One of the lines ends with "the", and the next line also starts with "the". You don't notice it unless you're looking for it.

[dancer44]

I remember reading Flatland when I was in the eighth grade. My eighth grade math teacher gave me a copy of it. I reread it again a few years ago, and it still holds up after all this time.

[apparentparadox]

The introduction in Flatterland mentions that Flatland was also partly a slam against the current society (the position of women, the class structure, etc.), although I didn't really get that any of the times that I read it before. I think that those aspects of it possibly haven't held up as well, but the "think outside the box" stuff really still holds up well.

[rfrench]

It's been many years since I read Flatland, but actually the main thing I do remember is the amount of societal commentary it had in it, especially related to women.

[apparentparadox]

According to the intro to "Flatterland", he was definitely satirizing society (both the class system and its treatment of women). When I first read it, though, I didn't get that -- to me, all that stuff was more about making the world seem "real" to help a 3D person understand that a 2D world could be as full of complexities as their world.

Obviously, you were more enlightened.

[dendren]

Lies my teacher told me... wow, this sounds like an incredible book. I'll have to pick it up. I've always been fascinated by different takes on history and the out and out lies that get "slipped" into our minds. I've always loved how the back of the 2 dollar bill shows the signing of the Declaration of Independence with a Mexican and a black man in attendence. Who knew our country was so progressive and multi-cultural even at it's very inception :P

[apparentparadox]

What's a 2 dollar bill?

[dendren]

an ancient form of currency distributed but not used in the late 70s or so :)

[apparentparadox]

How queer.

[wooddragon]

Once I bought into the idea that everyone filters reality, that there's no objective view of reality, I no longer know what reality is...