Review of 'Scale: The Universal Laws of Growth, Innovation, Sustainability, and the Pace of Life in Organisms, Cities, Economies, and Companies' on Goodreads
3 stars
Nice clear presentation of the author's 20 years research since shifting gears from high-energy physics to asking what universal rules might exist in the complex world of systems biology and human society. The physical & evolutionary reasons that animals and cities exhibit remarkably consistent 3/4 economies of scale in heart rate, metabolic rate and numerous other size relationships comes down to fractal space-filling. I first listened to his SALT talk here longnow.org/seminars/02017/may/23/universal-laws-growth-and-pace/ and the book did not add much. The original 2005 paper of the first half of the book is available here: jeb.biologists.org/content/208/9/1575