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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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"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
About the Author
Stefan Hildebrandt is known for his work on the calculus of variations and minimal surfaces. He has held faculty positions both in the U. S. and in Europe, and he is currently Professor of Mathematics at the University of Bonn.
Anthony Tromba is Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and is widely recognized for his work on minimal surfaces and nonlinear functional analysis.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great reference and resource guide for artists,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Parsimonious Universe: Shape and Form in the Natural World (Hardcover)
If any artists are exploring reference material on shape, form and
design in nature, this book explains why nature does 'create' it's
unique self.
It does tend to explain and breakdown natural shapes into mathematical
equations and theorims. Still the photos they provide and
the line drawings help you to understand why things are the
way they are. Useful if you want to create hybrids of these
forms. A intelligent imagination is useful.
My applications for this are from a 3D fine arts point of
view. The info in the book has provided me with inspiration
in my 3D artwork.
Sincerely
Andre Ribuoli
dreko@aol.com
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
Since ancient times, the circle and the sphere have been considered the perfect forms in geometry. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
many minimal surfaces, gyrostatic equilibrium, same topological type, isoperimetric property, liquid edges, soap films, constant mean curvature, shortest connection, isoperimetric problem, quickest descent, surfaces spanning, osculating plane, boundary configuration, eye loops, planar figures, infinitesimal calculus, given contour Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Johann Bernoulli, New York, Frei Otto, Isaac Newton, Leonhard Euler, Newton's Principia, Royal Society, Princeton University Press, Lick Observatory, Cambridge University Press, David Hilbert, Ernst Haeckel, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Pierre de Fermat, Richard Courant, Alan Schoen, Berlin Academy, Christiaan Huygens, King Frederic, Leonardo da Vinci, Lord Peter Wimsey, Olympic Stadium, Oxford University Press, Tom Noddy New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Since ancient times, the circle and the sphere have been considered the perfect forms in geometry. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
many minimal surfaces, gyrostatic equilibrium, same topological type, isoperimetric property, liquid edges, soap films, constant mean curvature, shortest connection, isoperimetric problem, quickest descent, surfaces spanning, osculating plane, boundary configuration, eye loops, planar figures, infinitesimal calculus, given contour Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Johann Bernoulli, New York, Frei Otto, Isaac Newton, Leonhard Euler, Newton's Principia, Royal Society, Princeton University Press, Lick Observatory, Cambridge University Press, David Hilbert, Ernst Haeckel, Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler, Pierre de Fermat, Richard Courant, Alan Schoen, Berlin Academy, Christiaan Huygens, King Frederic, Leonardo da Vinci, Lord Peter Wimsey, Olympic Stadium, Oxford University Press, Tom Noddy New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 57
books:
See all 57 books this book cites
7
books
cite this book:
See all 7 books citing this book
- On Growth and Form: The Complete Revised Edition (Dover Books on Biology) by D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson on 4 pages
- Einstein:: The Life and Times by Ronald W. Clark on page 316, and Back Matter
- Divine Comedy (Oxford World's Classics) by Dante Alighieri on page 69, and page 219
- Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers on page 85, and Back Matter
- Hilaire Belloc's Cautionary Verses by Hilaire Belloc in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 57 books this book cites
- Scientific Theology: Volume 1: Nature by Alister E. McGrath on page 213, and Back Matter
- The Honors Class: Hilbert's Problems and Their Solvers by Ben Yandell in Back Matter
- Fragments of Infinity: A Kaleidoscope of Math and Art by Ivars Peterson in Back Matter
- Isoquantal Capital Modulation: A Harmonic Modeling Approach to Understanding and Managing the Investment Decision by William J. McKibbin in Back Matter
- Six Themes On Variation (Student Mathematical Library, V. 26) by Robin Forman in Front Matter
See all 7 books citing this book
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