What if we lived in 2D world?

 What if series: Part - 14

Flatland novel and birth of this idea. 

• Flatland is a short novel written by Edwin A. Abbott, a British schoolteacher, in 1884. The story takes place in an entirely flat world. Everything in this world has only two dimensions: length and width. There is no height. The central character is a square. People in his society take on various shapes. Women form straight lines. Men are polygons. The more facets a man has, the more significant he is. 

• One day, a sphere from a three-dimensional world comes to him. The square cannot comprehend height. He has never had this experience. He only understands forwards, backwards, left, and right. Abbott used this story to address social class and narrow thinking. However, the science idea contained within it is powerful.

What is a real meaning of two Dimension? 

• A two-dimensional world consists of only length and width. There is no up or down. There's no thickness. Everything is on a flat plane. It can be compared to a sheet of paper. In mathematical terms, the height of a shape drawn on paper is zero. It is flat. In the real world, we live in three dimensions. 

• You can move forward. You can take a sideways step. You can jump. Birds can fly. Fish can swim deeper into the water. All of this requires height. In a two-dimensional world, there is no height. Movement is restricted to a flat surface. One change would have far-reaching consequences.

How would your body look?

• If you lived in a two-dimensional world, your body would have no volume. You wouldn't be a solid object. You would have a flat shape. Someone else would not see your full face or body in the same way that we do. They would only see one line. If you turned, the length of the line would change. That’s all. 

• Think about your internal organs. In our world, your heart, lungs, and stomach are located inside you. They are arranged three-dimensionally. Blood vessels cross one another. Nerves pass over and under other tissues. In two dimensions, crossing becomes a significant issue. If two tubes cross in two dimensions, they must intersect. There is no top or bottom.

How would you see the world?

• Vision would also change in an unexpected way. In our world, light travels in three dimensions. Your eyes collect light from a variety of angles. You can see shapes, surfaces, and depths. In a two-dimensional world, light would only travel along the flat plane. You wouldn't see the entire shape of another person. You'd only see their edges. A circle would not appear as a complete circle. 

• It would appear as a line segment with varying lengths as it moved. This is analogous to what happens in Flatland when a sphere travels through the flat world. In the square, a small circle appears. It grows larger, then smaller, and finally disappears. He never sees the whole sphere. He only sees cross-sections.

Movment would be limited.

• Now consider movement. If two people stand in a narrow path in 2D and one of them blocks the way, the other cannot get around by stepping aside in height. There is no end. There is no under. There is no such thing as jumping over someone. This makes the space more crowded. 

• If someone draws a closed circle around you, you will be trapped. In our world, you could push yourself beyond the limits. In 2D, escape is impossible unless the boundary is broken. A simple closed line becomes an ideal wall. As a result, even simple activities such as eating and breathing would require careful planning.

Would Atom and plants work?

• The deeper question does not concern bodies or structures. It's about physics. The laws of gravity and electromagnetism are dimension-dependent. Gravity operates on the basis of an inverse square law. Its strength decreases as the square of distance. This allows for stable planetary orbits. Earth orbits the Sun in a predictable manner. 

• In a universe with only two spatial dimensions, gravity would obey a different mathematical rule. Stable orbits may not exist in the same way. Planets may not follow stable paths. The same issue arises in atomic physics. Atomic structure is based on three-dimensional space. Changing dimensions alters how forces behave. Stable atoms may not form as they do here.

How would City looks?

• If intelligent beings existed in two dimensions, their cities would only spread outwards. There would be no tall buildings. There are no underground tunnels. No multi-level roads. Everything would be placed side by side on a single plane. Privacy would be different. There is no hiding behind someone with depth. Position and shape define identity.

• In Flatland, people recognize each other by the angles of their bodies. Defense would also be simpler in some ways. A closed boundary completely protects an area. There is no attack from above. Geometry may serve as the foundation for social rules. Shape may determine status. Movement paths may define power.

Time still move forward.

• Even in a two-dimensional universe, time would exist. Events would occur sequentially. People would get older. Causes would produce effects. Physics defines our universe as having three dimensions of space and one dimension of time. Time would most likely remain a separate dimension in a two-dimensional world. Life would continue to move forward moment by moment. Only space would be flat.

• Living in two dimensions would alter your body, society, and even the laws of nature themselves. 

• Your three-dimensional world is not random. It enables complexity. It provides stability. It allows you to exist. And this simple fact elevates your everyday space beyond its appearance.

• If you lived in a 2D world, what shape would you be and why?

Write your answer in the comments.