Scale: The Universal Laws of Life and Death in Organisms, Cities and Companies
Geoffrey West
May 2017 · Weidenfeld & Nicolson · Narrated by Bruce Mann
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19 hr 13 min
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About this audiobook
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.
'An absolutely riveting read . . . groundbreaking' Marcus du Sautoy
'This book will expand your thinking from three dimensions to four' Nassim Nicholas Taleb
'Scale is a firework display of popular science' Niall Ferguson
'This is an important and original book, of immense scope' Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal
Scale addresses big, urgent questions about global sustainability, population explosion, urbanization, ageing, cancer, human lifespans and the increasing pace of life, but also encourages us to question the world around us. Why can we live for 120 years but not for a thousand? Why does the pace of life continually increase? Why do mice live for just two or three years and elephants for up to 75? Why do companies behave like mice, and are they all destined to die? Do cities, companies and human beings have natural, pre-determined lifespans? Are we just a fascinating experiment in natural selection that is ultimately doomed to fail? And what is the origin of the magic number 4 that seems to determine much of physiology and life-history from birth to death?
Read by Bruce Mann
(p) 2017 Penguin Random House
'An absolutely riveting read . . . groundbreaking' Marcus du Sautoy
'This book will expand your thinking from three dimensions to four' Nassim Nicholas Taleb
'Scale is a firework display of popular science' Niall Ferguson
'This is an important and original book, of immense scope' Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal
Scale addresses big, urgent questions about global sustainability, population explosion, urbanization, ageing, cancer, human lifespans and the increasing pace of life, but also encourages us to question the world around us. Why can we live for 120 years but not for a thousand? Why does the pace of life continually increase? Why do mice live for just two or three years and elephants for up to 75? Why do companies behave like mice, and are they all destined to die? Do cities, companies and human beings have natural, pre-determined lifespans? Are we just a fascinating experiment in natural selection that is ultimately doomed to fail? And what is the origin of the magic number 4 that seems to determine much of physiology and life-history from birth to death?
Read by Bruce Mann
(p) 2017 Penguin Random House
Ratings and reviews
3.0
1 review
Jaime L. P.
- Flag inappropriate
November 11, 2024
I learned about so many things I wasn't interested.
About the author
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
www.ted.com/speakers/geoffrey_west
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