Flatland / Edwin Abbott

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions
by Edwin A. Abbott

published 1884
read in October 2012 (and skimmed, years earlier)

categories: management, science fiction, other
rating: 7 / 10, well worth reading

Strictly speaking, this novella is "other". Categorising as "management" is misleading. I'm a victim of my own definitions, since "management" is defined as "management, business, informative stuff". And Flatland is intended to be informative.

There is a simple story: hero makes great discovery, cannot convince his friends, realises that the government is suppressing his discovery, is jailed to keep him quiet.

The main point, though, is to explain the concept of multi-dimensional universes, with dimensions from zero, through our normal three, and beyond. With rational explanation of possible life at each of the lesser-dimensioned universes.

I still cannot visualise a four-dimensional world. But Flatland makes me believe that it is possible. I'm not sure that I'm ready to believe that it is "likely"...

... Which supports one of the points which is made, gently, in the book. A 3D Sphere is dismayed that the 2D Square (the author and hero) has so much trouble believing in the third dimension. Yet Sphere has just as much trouble believing in the fourth dimension!

Sphere, of course, is from our own, 3D space. Abbott clearly explains the logical possibility of zero, one and two dimensional spaces. He then asks us to step beyond our built-in limitations -- and explore the possibility of space with four... or more... dimensions.

For a budding mathematician -- or a fan of science fiction -- this is a great little book.

Save the heavy textbooks for later. Start with Flatland, for a pleasant introduction to the possibility of multi-dimensional space.

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Problems ? Solved

Only Child / Andrew Vachss

Only Child

category: crime, author:

Andrew Vachss

book 14 of Burke
original copyright 2002

read in February 2012

Agamedes' opinion: 7 out of 10: well worth reading

According to my local library, this book is "fantasy"... Hmmm... Though I must admit, it took a while for me to decide.

Is this book over the top? Or is it so far over that it has slipped into fantasy...

No, this is "crime". Gritty, underbelly, modern-day, crime.

I don't have a label for "crime" so I have labelled this review as action and other. Neither is correct. It's just easier than starting a new label :-)

"Burke", the hero, is a tough-as-nails rough diamond. Earns his money through crime -- except when distracted by his need to save children from the clutches of evil. Which is lightly phrased but the topic is treated very seriously.

Burke has many loyal friends. All extremes, almost caricatures. This had me confused, for several chapters. (Not that Vachss restricts the narrative flow by the use of chapters...)

I have never before read a "Burke" book. The characters are unfamiliar. The style is... choppy. Incomplete, jargonistic, abrupt. I was rather confused.

Is this book worth the effort? I wondered...

Last night I watched five minutes of a tv show called Luther. Tough-guy cop, plays outside the rulebook, talks in jargon. Standard bbc tv cop fare, in fact. The fact that he mumbled made the plot -- as far as I watched it -- incomprehensible. Sort of similar to Only Child...

Except that Only Child has no mumblers. One of the advantages of the written word! Still, I was confused.

Until, suddenly: the plot was revealed!

After some introductory settling-in of the characters, Vachss provides the key element of the plot. I do not know the characters, so I am confused rather than settled in. But suddenly...

The key conflict is revealed. I find myself sympathising with the victim. I begin to support the hero in his drive to solve the crime.

I am hooked!

This is a tough book. The good guys are willing to be violent, the bad guys are extremely violent. Yet the main villain turns out to be just a fool who set up a stupid situation which lead to a violent crime.

On the other hand, the violence is not overplayed. I dislike tv's gore-porn, where the point of the show is to describe -- in intimate detail -- the violence of the crime-of-the-week.

Yes, Only Child describes violence. In enough detail to shock but not enough detail to thrill the gore-porn addicts.

And real enough to make you think.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

Passion for Distance / Julia Thorn

Passion for Distance

category: "other", author:

Julia Thorn

original copyright 2011

read in December 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10

What can I say?! A woman runs 100 marathons and writes a book about it... If you are interested in marathons -- read the book and set your target.

If you are not interested in marathons -- this book is still interesting. It's light and easy to read. There is no pressure to get the reader to follow the author into running around the world. It's just a series of linked anecdotes, backed by some explanation of why the author would run so many marathons...

And the answer is...

Why not?!

Some people collect stamps. Some people go bushwalking. Some people run marathons. Some day I may write a book called, "Our 100 Rogaines".

Julia Thorn presents her achievement -- and the steps on the way -- as just something that she did. Interesting, challenging, more varied than you would expect. No sense of a life-long desire to do something both difficult and memorable... Running 100 marathons is just something that she has done.

I do like the way that Thorn approaches her races. She is not out to win at all costs... She is there to take part.

An early target was to run a marathon in each Australian state. Later, she wanted to set a personal best of three and a half hours. That's a good time but nowhere near Olympic standard. Having achieved that standard -- she stopped.

Not stopped running, but stopped trying to go fast. Thorn is happy to compete. She is not driven to win. This is a good example for anyone, in any sport: take part, enjoy.

That said, her training and approach to running are far more dedicated than my own! Thorn casually refers to taking part in several ultra-marathons; some day I would like to just survive an ordinary marathon. She doesn't train too hard, just a few runs a week an five minutes per kilometer. That rate is, for me, just a (so far) impossible dream.

The book makes you believe that it is possible to move beyond our sedentary limits. The training, the participation, the effort are all described as requiring just a little bit of dedication. Scale the target to your own level -- and you can do it!

My own target is to enter and complete just one marathon. Passion for Distance makes me think that it may be possible. It also makes me think -- reading between the lines -- that it will be difficult -- for me.

Not so much an inspirational book... More a book that celebrates what one woman has done. And that gives the reader an idea of what is possible -- if it's what you want to do.

..o0o..

These reviews are provided by Agamedes Consulting. For an independent and thoughtful review of your processes, problems or documents, email nickleth at gmail dot com.

PissWeakly: the Index

Carter Beats the Devil / Glen David Gold

Carter Beats the Devil

category: fictional biography, author:

Glen David Gold

original copyright 2001,
read in January 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10

This book is sort of entertaining, as far as I read it. I lasted to page 77 out of 563... It's not a bad book. Just not something that grabbed at my attention.

There's an article in today's newspaper, I bought these books to raise my shelf esteem (The West, 18 Jan 2011) which inspired me to stop reading Carter. "Inspired"? Is that the correct word when I was ... internally convinced ... to stop reading? Anyway.

The Lord of the Rings : The making of the movie trilogy / Brian Sibley

The Lord of the Rings : The making of the movie trilogy

category: marketing..., author:

Brian Sibley

original copyright 2002,
read in January 2011

Agamedes' opinion: 6 out of 10

Did you watch the movies of Lord of the Rings? Then grab this book, have a skim and be amazed! The effort behind the scenes was amazing.

The book itself is less than amazing.

It's an eye-opener but... really... a marketing exercise.