From strange simplicity to complex familiarity

Manfred Eigen

Why I looked at this book

An all encompassing theory which uses the same equations for both physics and biology and quite a bit more besides. Normally I'd be rather sceptical about such a thing, but with an eminent scientist like Eigen I feel that it may well be worth a look. I'm intrigued to find out what he has proposed.

First impressions

This is a long book, so there is a substantial sample available. The introduction suggests that Eigen's ideas for pulling together different areas of science relate to thermodynamics, information and self organisation, which promises to be interesting. The first chapter looks at the development of physics, especially relativity and quantum theory. It's not too technical, but doesn't shy away from the use of equations.