The Fourth-Dimensional Reaches of the Exposition: San Francisco, 1915

Williams, Cora Lenore, 1865-1937Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 2.6
Word count
27K words
Chapters
3

Tags

English Originals Culture Four-Dimensional SpaceTech ImaginationPopular NarrativeExposition SpectacleSan FranciscoSocial Observation

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Fourth-Dimensional Reaches of the Exposition: San Francisco, 1915 by WilliamsAuthor: Williams, Cora Lenore, 1865-1937,Language: English, Class: TC: Technology: Ocean engineering, Release Date: Apr 1, 2004

Editor's review

This is an English essay centered on the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, in which the author, Cora Lenore Williams, approaches the exposition from the angle of the "fourth dimension," discussing its space, architecture, and visual experience within a higher-dimensional imaginative framework. Its interest lies not in offering an exposition guide but in weaving engineering technology, geometric concepts, and exhibition experience together through a speculative approach marked by its era. For today's readers, the text is more like a window: it offers a glimpse of early twentieth-century American intellectual imaginings of dimension, space, and progress, and conveys the conceptual atmosphere behind exposition culture. Since the original is short, in English, and without modern annotations, reading requires some background knowledge. It suits readers interested in exposition history, the cultural history of science, or early modernist ideas, to be read as a topical essay with historical-document value rather than as a systematic academic monograph.

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Reading tips

  1. First learn the basic background of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, then read the main text.
  2. While reading, note how the author uses the "fourth dimension" to describe exhibition space, making brief notes.
  3. Compare with contemporary popular discussions of dimension and geometry to understand the conceptual context.
  4. The text is short; it is advisable to read it through once and then revisit key passages to sort out the argument.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3

FAQ

Is this book an exposition guide? No. It is not a guidebook introducing pavilions, transportation, or visiting routes, but a conceptual discussion of the exposition by the author from the perspective of the fourth dimension. If you need practical visiting information, look for other sources.
What background knowledge is needed for reading? It is best to have a basic understanding of the 1915 San Francisco exposition and early twentieth-century popular discussions of space and dimension. College-level English reading ability will make it smoother.
Why is it classified under marine engineering technology? Sources show that the book's classification in Project Gutenberg is TC, i.e., marine engineering technology. This classification may not fully correspond to the text's subject; readers should rely on the content itself, treating the classification as reference only.

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About the author

Williams, Cora Lenore, 1865-1937 Author · American · 1865–1937

Cora Lenore Williams (1865–1937) was an American mathematician and educator who taught mathematics for many years. Public information about her is limited, and only one work of hers is currently known: The Fourth-Dimensional Reaches of the Exposition: San Francisco, 1915, published in 1915. Set against the backdrop of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, the book discusses the exposition from the perspective of the fourth dimension, linking the concept of higher-dimensional space in geometry to the buildings and displays of the fair. Though brief, it reflects the author's aim of bringing abstract mathematical ideas to a general readership, with clear prose and an emphasis on intuitive explanation. It should appeal to readers interested in geometry and the culture of the exposition. Given the scarcity of records, further research is needed on the details of her life and her scholarly influence.