Sublime

The modern physicist, while he still believes that matter is in some sense atomic, does not believe in empty space. Where there is not matter, there is still something, notably light-waves. Matter no longer has the lofty status that it acquired in philosophy through the arguments of Parmenides. It is not unchanging substance, but merely a way of gr

The science of complex systems is the study of how local interactions can lead to global consequences.

as science digs deeper into the innermost realities of the universe, objective truth seems to break down. The concept in quantum mechanics that particles can behave as either particles or waves, depending on how they are observed, reveals a mixed metaphor hidden at the centre of our physical world.

some form of complexity theory is required if we are to understand many of the intimate, and patently uncertain, interactions found in modern society.

He wished to convey the excitement of science to the intelligent nonscientific reader. He had been thinking about such a work for fifty years. He could not accept what he called the narrow-minded, sentimental view that nature loses its…

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“Genes are like keys on a piano.” When we get caught in ruminative chatter, we hit discordant notes.