The variety of sizes, shapes, and irregularities in nature is endless. Through illustrations and text, the authors of The Parsimonious Universe describe the efforts by scientists and mathematicians since the Renaissance to identify and describe the basic laws underlying the shape of natural forms. Can one set of laws account for both the symmetry and irregularity as well as the infinite variety of nature's designs? Complete answers to these questions are likely novel to be discovered. Still, down through the ages, the investigation of form and pattern in nature has yielded some fascinating and surprising insights. Out of this inquiry comes a specific branch of mathematics - the calculus of variations - which explores questions of optimization (finding designs that maximize or minimize a particular quantity).

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"The numerous carefully chosen illustrations, the witty quotations opening each chapter, but especially a perfect way of explaining things - all these make the book really attractive." EMS Newsletter



Book Information
ISBN 9781461275329
Author Stefan Hildebrandt
Format Paperback
Page Count 330
Imprint Copernicus Books
Publisher Springer-Verlag New York Inc.