Perhaps the most curious thing about natural patterns is that they come from a relatively limited palette, recurring at very different size scales and in systems that might seem to have nothing at all in common with one another. We see spirals, say, and hexagons, intricate branching forms of cracks and lightning, spots and stripes. It seems that there are types of pattern-forming process that don’t depend on the detailed specifics of a system but can crop up across the board, even bridging effortlessly the living and the non-living worlds. In this sense, pattern formation is universal: it doesn’t respect any of the normal boundaries that we tend to draw between different sciences or different types of phenomena.
Thank you for the review of Patterns in Nature Brittany. In my opinion this is what the ancient Stoics would see as the Logos in action. As a nature photographer I’m sure this book will be of great interest.
Thank you for the review of Patterns in Nature Brittany. In my opinion this is what the ancient Stoics would see as the Logos in action. As a nature photographer I’m sure this book will be of great interest.