On Sale: Mar 5, 2003
Page Count: 352 pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN-13: 9780786868445

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At the heart of the universe is a steady, insistent beat, the sound of cycles in sync. Along the tidal rivers of Malaysia, thousands of fireflies congregate and flash in unison; the moon spins in perfect resonance with its orbit around the earth; our hearts depend on the synchronous firing of ten thousand pacemaker cells. While the forces that synchronize the flashing of fireflies may seem to have nothing to do with our heart cells, there is in fact a deep connection. Synchrony is a science in its infancy, and Strogatz is a pioneer in this new frontier in which mathematicians and physicists attempt to pinpoint just how spontaneous order emerges from chaos. From underground caves in Texas where a French scientist spent six months alone tracking his sleep-wake cycle, to the home of a Dutch physicist who in 1665 discovered two of his pendulum clocks swinging in perfect time, this fascinating book spans disciplines, continents, and centuries. Engagingly written for readers of books such as Chaos and The Elegant Universe, Sync is a tour-de-force of nonfiction writing.

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Steven H. Strogatz

About the Author

Steven Strogatz is the Schurman Professor of Applied Mathematics at Cornell University. His honors include MIT's highest teaching prize, a lifetime achievement award for the communication of mathematics to the general public, and membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. His research on a wide variety of nonlinear systems—from synchronized fireflies to small-world networks—has been featured in the pages of Scientific American, Nature, Discover, Business Week, and The New York Times.

Mitchal Dichter is an instructor of math at Campus Learning Assistance Services at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

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