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The Geometry of Biological Time (Interdisciplinary Applied Mathematics, 12) 2nd ed. 2001. Softcover reprint of the original 2nd ed. 2001 Edition
Purchase options and add-ons
- ISBN-101441931961
- ISBN-13978-1441931962
- Edition2nd ed. 2001. Softcover reprint of the original 2nd ed. 2001
- PublisherSpringer
- Publication dateDecember 1, 2010
- LanguageEnglish
- Dimensions7.01 x 1.82 x 10 inches
- Print length805 pages
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Editorial Reviews
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From the reviews:
"This book is a wonderful exposition about his life’s work and is presented with such clarity that the reader gains an insight into details of his manner of thinking…the reader is taken on a quest to solve biological mysteries and travels from the intricate beginnings of formulating the questions, through the apices and troughs of analyzing, and on to the discovery of the holy grail, that which yields biological predictions and answers. One leaves with a sense of understanding that hopefully can be applied to one’s own work…this book could easily serve a dual purpose. First, through the introduction of basic mathematical concepts such as topology combined with modeling, the book serves as an introduction helping the non-applied reader to see the beauty of mathematical modeling. Second, because Winfree explains the modeling process very thoroughly, instead of just presenting equations, the book can serve as a medium for the medical professional to acquire an understanding of the modeling process. A wonderful accomplishment...I am proud to have this book on my shelf and consider it…a seminal text in mathematical modeling. This is a text that every first year graduate student should look at in some detail." (Mathematical Reviews)
"The new edition of The Geometry of Biological Time is a fascinating update of the delightful original. This new edition contains thoughtful commentary on new developments in the field, adding a historical and sociological dimension to the original book's elegant and unifying treatment of biological problems involving processes that repeat themselves regularly, i.e. involve 'rhythmic return through a cycle of change.' The book is an enjoyable page-turner, even for those readers with only a passing interest in biology, and demonstrates well the synergistic effect between biology and mathematics. ...
The term 'page-turner' may seem unusual in mathematics; however, it is appropriate here.Not only is the reader continually tantalized by the figures appearing on the ensuing pages, but the new commentary lends a mystery-novel feeling to the book. This second edition was created by inserting new text boxes into the original, mostly intact, edition. This style leads to a fascinating historical picture. For example, the text, '(...In the latter cases the periodicity approximation gets worse closer to the pivot. I wish here to sweep such matters under the rug (in 1978))' is followed by a new text box that begins, 'The bulge under the rug grew and grew...', continuing with a description of developments over the last two decades. The plot continues even now, with descriptions of the last twenty years often followed in the book by descriptions of current puzzles. In summary, the original book is good and the second edition is even better; the historical commentary is fascinating, and there are also a few reorganized and new chapters presenting additonal biological examples." (MAA Online)
Product details
- Publisher : Springer; 2nd ed. 2001. Softcover reprint of the original 2nd ed. 2001 edition (December 1, 2010)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 805 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1441931961
- ISBN-13 : 978-1441931962
- Item Weight : 3.03 pounds
- Dimensions : 7.01 x 1.82 x 10 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,580,547 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #488 in Bioinformatics (Books)
- #1,599 in Mathematical Analysis (Books)
- #2,997 in Anatomy (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
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For those not familiar with Art Winfree, he was a pioneer in the mathematical and experimental investigation of the temporal and spatial aspects of biological phenomena. I don't know that I would agree with the reviewer who states that the book "transgresses" scientific boundaries. Perhaps a few decades ago this might have been true, but much of what Winfree pioneered is now mainstream science, or at least well-known.
The idea of "transgressing boundaries" implies a certain sense of rebellion and frequently has polticial overtones, and I would best describe Winfree as an explorer, not a rebel. He, along with a few other scietists scattered throughout various disciplines, followed where his interests and results led him. In a way, this is the essence of pure science.
Later in his life Winfree was recognized in many ways, deservedly so, and continued to work on his ideas until his death. By that time, his work was well known to scientists in a variety of areas. As another reviewer stated, Winfree was not concerned so much with his image, as with explaining his ideas and thought processes that he used in trying to "get it right".
If you are new to the work of Art Winfree this book will serve as a valuable part of your education. If you are an old hand, who has not looked at the material in the book in a long time, it is always worth yet another reading. This is a very good book. It is a classic of science.
It does that, but at the end I felt let down. Here's the basic idea. Living things often proceed through cycles. Winfree is most concerned with the daily cycles that most animals have, that are synchronized with the light of the sun, but his ideas also apply, for instance, to the cell cycle (which was only beginning to be understood at that time). How does geometry come into this?
Consider a two-dimensional plane that has a point we identify as its center. Picture all the points that are exactly 1 unit of distance (any unit you want) from the center. These points called the unit circle, or the unit 1-sphere, S^1, constitute a one dimensional space that wraps in on itself. (Why 1? Although we pictured a plane to construct it, when we move on S^1 we can move backward and forward along only one direction. Forward or backward only -- no sideways, no up or down.)
Winfree's insight is that any aspect of a living thing that cycles can be thought of as a point moving around the unit circle. And all things that occupy the unit circle share mathematical properties by virtue of its geometry. Of course he goes further than this -- it's an entire book! But that's where it begins.
This was a valuable insight in 1980, since almost nothing was known about the biochemical mechanisms of daily rhythms, and the technologies to find out more about mechanisms were only beginning to be developed. Therefore, a way of thinking about the rhythms that didn't depend on nuts and bolts could get somewhere.
That is the strength and the weaknesses of Winfree's approach. Because it was independent of mechanism, it had almost nothing to say about mechanism. That bothered me as a 25-year-old student. I felt that I had put in a lot of mind-breakingly difficult mental effort to understand his ideas and arrived nowhere. Now, forty years later, knowing the nuts and bolts in detail, it feels even more so.
Still, the mind-breakingly hard mental effort was its own reward.
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Reviewed in Japan on July 16, 2021
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