The Language of Symmetry

by Benedict Rattigan (Editor), Denis Noble (Editor), Afiq Hatta (Editor)

Overview

The Language of Symmetry is a re-assessment of the structure and reach of symmetry, by an interdisciplinary group of specialists from the arts, humanities, and sciences at Oxford University.

It explores, amongst other topics:

• order and chaos in the formation of planetary systems
• entropy and symmetry in physics
• group theory, fractals, and self-similarity
• symmetrical structures in western classical music
• how biological systems harness disorder to create order

This book aims to open up the scope of interdisciplinary work in the study of symmetry and is intended for scholars of any background - whether it be science, arts, or philosophy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032303949
Publisher:	CRC Press
Publication date:	05/16/2023
Pages:	138
Product dimensions:	5.44(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Benedict Rattigan is a writer, and he is Director of the Schweitzer Institute, a think-tank that promotes an ethic of ‘reverence for life’ through educational programs, community outreach projects, a peer-reviewed journal and university conferences.

Denis Noble CBE FRS held the Burdon Sanderson Chair of Cardiovascular Physiology at Oxford 1984-2004 and was appointed Professor Emeritus and co-Director of Computational Physiology. Professor Noble is one of the pioneers of systems biology and developed the first viable mathematical model of the working heart. He is one of the founders of the new field of Systems Biology and is the author of the first popular science book on the subject, The Music of Life (2006).

Afiq Hatta is a science writer, and the owner of the blog simplesalad.ghost.io. He primarily writes about theoretical physics and its connections with economics and philosophy. He is a recent graduate of Mathematics at Trinity Hall, Cambridge and was formerly a quantitative trader at Morgan Stanley.

Table of Contents

1. Planetary Systems: From Symmetry to Chaos. 2. Entropy and Symmetry in the Universe. 3. Darkness, Light, and how Symmetry might relate Them. Self-Similar 4. Self-Similarity. 5 The Language of Symmetry in Music. 6. The Interdependence of Order and Disorder: How Complexity arises in the Living and the Inanimate Universe. 7. A Philosophers Perspective on the Harnessing of Stochasticity. 8. Postscript: A Dialogue between Denis Noble and Benedict Rattigan. 9. Appendix: A Response to Professor Nobles Paper: Ordered disorder to drive Physiology.