Scale

Aging and mortality are confounding phenomena. In his new book, the influential physicist Geoffrey West invites readers to join him in an exploration of the hidden laws that govern the life cycle of everything from plants and animals to the cities we live in. The unifying theme of West’s work is that he has found an underlying simplicity that gives rise to seeming complexity: “Complexity” can be misleading, however, because what makes West’s discoveries so beautiful is that he has found an underlying simplicity that unites the seemingly complex and diverse phenomena of living systems, including our bodies, our cities and our businesses.