by Geoffrey West (Author), Geoffrey West (Author)
Geoffrey West's research centres on a quest to find unifying principles and patterns connecting everything, from cells and ecosystems to cities, social networks and businesses.
Why do organisms and ecosystems scale with size in a remarkably universal and systematic fashion?
Is there a maximum size of cities? Of animals and plants? What about companies?
Can scale show us how to create a more sustainable future?
By applying the rigour of physics to questions of biology, visionary physicist Geoffrey West found that despite the riotous diversity in the sizes of mammals, they are all, to a large degree, scaled versions of each other. This speaks to everything from how long we can expect to live to how many hours of sleep we need. He then made the even bolder move of exploring his work's applicability to cities and to the business world. These investigations have led to powerful insights about the elemental natural laws that bind us together in profound ways, and how all complex systems are dancing to the same simple tune, however diverse and unrelated they may seem.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 496
Edition: 1
Publisher: W&N
Published: 03 May 2018
ISBN 10: 1780225598
ISBN 13: 9781780225593
This book is breathtaking in its scope and vision! It represents the culmination of exciting theoretical work addressing critical questions in life. Written by a clever physicist and one of the most influential thinkers of the time, Geoffrey West, this volume elaborates on the author's intriguing discovery that the growth, organisation and dynamics of humans, animals and plants scale with their size. .....It is really an enjoyable read
that takes readers on a journey of fresh insights and illuminating perspectives.
GEOFFREY WEST is a theoretical physicist whose primary interests have been in fundamental questions in physics, biology and global sustainability. West is a distinguished professor at the Santa Fe Institute, where he served as the president from 2005 to 2009. He also holds visiting positions at Oxford University, Imperial College and Nanyang Technical University in Singapore. West has been cited and admired in the works of many other writers and thinkers, and has given numerous presentations and popular online appearances on TED, Pop-Tech, World Economic Forum and Google Talks. In 2006, he was named to Time magazine's list of the '100 Most Influential People in the World'.
www.ted.com/speakers/geoffrey_west