Video 2. Dr Quantum – Flatland
I. Before watching the video:
1. What do you think the video will be about?
I think that the video will be about a geometric world because I find a geometric meaning of flat as a
generalization of lines and planes in an Euclidean space with n dimensions on page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat.
2. What do you think "flatland" means?
I think that flatland is a composition of land, usually used to change the meaning of a word for a world that
have the characteristics of this word, and flat whose geometric meaning was said in the last question. Thus I think
that flatland means a land with some geometrical characteristics.
Image taken from. http://registry.gimp.org/node/15748 on Aug 12th, 2009
II. While watching, please answer the following questions:
1. Who are the main characters in the video?
The main characters are Dr. Quantum and the little circle.
2. What's the difference between the worlds in which the characters live in?
Dr. Quantum live in a three dimensional world when he can see all things in two dimension too while the
little circle world there is not up and not down and there is not a concept of three-dimensional objects because this
world have only two dimensions.
3. What does Dr. Quantum decide to do?
Dr. Quantum decides to extract the two-dimensional little circle of flatland and to give her more dimensions.
4. What does this cause to the other character?
The other character, the little circle becomes three-dimensional; she takes spherical share and changes of
color.
III. After watching the video, please answer these questions.
1. How many dimensions do you know? Please mention them and define them.
I know that physically there are four dimensions long, wide and depth of space and the dimension of time;
but mathematically they can be more, they can be infinity. Mathematically exist spaces whit n dimensions as the real
numbers for example, R1 are the rational and irrational numbers, R2 are this expressed in two components x and y
vectors in the plane, R3 are vectors in the three dimensional space; Rn are vectors in a space whit n dimension.
Geometrically there are points, figures without dimension; straight lines, figures in a dimension; polygons, figures in
two dimension as a square; polyhedrons, figures with 3 dimensions as a cube; polychoirs, figures with four dimension
as a hypercube; we can think in figure with n dimension call polymoles, where n=1,2,3,…..,∞.
Image taken from http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politopo
2. Would you like to live in a two dimensional world? Why?
It would like me boring and unpractical and it could be the chaos because it would make impossible the
movement in a direction, for example we would not crouch, jump, fly or build high structures. The life would become
narrow because we would have serious overcrowding problems 8-0!!! Nooo!!!