Patterns in Nature – Why the Natural World Looks the Way It Does

The book in its commanding space is pictorial. You view in page after page, after page magnificent patterns gloriously colored and you are amazed at the beauty and creativity of nature. The text is lean, but elegant and insightful and describes the mathematical underpinnings of nature's patterns.Behind the appearance of an overwhelming diversity and complexity in the natural world there is an underlying order. Natural patterns are formed spontaneously from the forces that act on the natural world and can be described using the same mathematical and physical principles. This is the reason that very often the same types of pattern recur in places that seem to have nothing in common, as when the patterns of vein in leaves are similar to that of our blood vessels and more distantly when the stripes of a zebra resemble the ripples in sand dunes.A gem of a book, very strongly recommended.

I had wanted this book for a while and it didn't disappoint. It is mainly a picture book of nature's many kinds of patterns - animal markings, chemical processes, river deltas, water splashes... There is some text explaining how and why such patterns form but it's the images - with their stunning colours - that rule. As an inspiration for art (my main goal) - there is a lifetime's worth here. But you don't need any ulterior motive, just sit and allow the endless beauty of this world to delight you. Then go outside and look for yourself!

Brilliant photos and explanations of patterns found in nature

Extraordinary photographs to illustrate patterns in nature. Excellent book!

The pictures are amazing, and the information is as interesting as it is well-written and easy to understand. Got on a whim for a college project, and glad I did so - Im impressed with the print quality.

A beautiful book with amazing illustrations I close up. Good quality book. Not much writing, but it doesn't bother me, because I only bought it for the photographs not text.Looking forward to more books like this !A great buy

Slightly disappointed as this appears to be a re-hash of the author's (excellent) 1999 book "The Self Made Tapestry".Same-ish discussion of D'Arcy Thompson, Bubbles, Fractals, Turing's brilliant paper on morphogenesis, Waves and Dunes etc. etc.Sadly in the same way that the (usually reliable) Ian Stewart has rehashed his 2001 book "What Shape is a Snowflake" as "The Beauty of Numbers in Nature"...CAVEAT EMPTOR with both these books (and I am slightly miffed that I have been "conned" into buying the same books twice) :-(

Inspirational book for art/textile projects. Nature is truly amazing.....