On Growth and Form
- Downloads
- 100+
- First published
- 1917
- Pages
- 842
About this book
D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson thought biologists had grown too quick to answer every question about an organism's shape with the single word evolution. His 1917 book argues that physics and geometry do much of the work. A jellyfish takes the form of a drop of liquid falling through water, a bird's bone is braced like an engineer's truss, a shell grows along a logarithmic spiral, a sunflower head counts in Fibonacci numbers. The best known section shows how the skull of one fish becomes another's when you stretch the grid it is drawn on. Biologists have argued with the book for a century, and nearly everyone who reads it comes away looking at living things a different way.
Contents
About the author
More from this genre
See all- E An Elementary Course in Synthetic Projective GeometryAn Elementary Course in Synthetic Projective Geometry
- S Sketch of the Analytical Engine invented by Charles Babbage, EsqSketch of the Analytical Engine invented by Charles Babbage, Esq
- P Pictured Puzzles and Word PlayPictured Puzzles and Word Play
- E An Essay on the Foundations of GeometryAn Essay on the Foundations of Geometry
- M The Montessori Elementary MaterialThe Montessori Elementary Material
- O Of the Just Shaping of LettersOf the Just Shaping of Letters
Books like this one
- F The Factors of Organic Evolution The Factors of Organic Evolution
-
A Critique of the Theory of Evolution
-
Island Life
- M The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants The Movements and Habits of Climbing Plants
-
Evidence as to Man's Place in Nature
- E Essays Upon Heredity and Kindred Biological Problems Essays Upon Heredity and Kindred Biological Problems
Discussion
No comments yet. Share a thought, a question or a favourite passage.
Copyright concern? Read our DMCA policy
Read or download
Public domain book This work is in the public domain and free of copyright. Anyone may read, download and share it.
- PDF 17 MB
- EPUB 8.5 MB
Downloads start right away. How to open EPUB on your phone
Book facts
- First published
- 1917
- Reading time
- About 20 hours
- Pages
- 842
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Mathematics
- Formats
- PDF, EPUB, Read online