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In a flight of starlings : the wonders of complex systems / Giorgio Parisi ; in collaboration with Anna Parisi ; translated by Simon Carnell.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextLanguage: English Original language: Italian Publisher: New York : Penguin Press, 2023Copyright date: ©2023Description: xi, 132 pages : illustrations ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9780593493151
  • 059349315X
Uniform titles:
  • In un volo di storni. English
Subject(s):
Contents:
In a flight of starlings -- Physics in Rome, around fifty years ago -- Je ne regrette rien -- Phase transitions, or collective phenomena -- Spin glasses: the introduction of disorder -- Metaphors in science -- How ideas are born -- The meaning of science.
Summary: "From the 2021 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, an enlightening and personal journey into the practice of groundbreaking science. In a Flight of Starlings, already a #1 bestseller in his native Italy, celebrated physicist Giorgio Parisi guides us through his unorthodox yet exhilarating work: investigating the principles of physics by observing the flight of flocks of birds. Studying the movements of these communities, he has realized, proves an illuminating way into understanding complex systems of all kinds--collections of everything from atoms and planets to other animals like ourselves. Along the way, he reflects on the lessons he's taken from a life in pursuit of scientific truth: the importance of serendipity to the discovery of new ideas, the surprising kinship between physics and other disciplines, and the value of science to a thriving society. In so doing, he removes the practice of science from the confines of the laboratory and into the real world. Part elegant scientific treatise, part thrilling journey of discovery, In a Flight of Starlings is an invitation to find wonder in the world around us."-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction 530.01 P234 Available 33111011307077
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From the 2021 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, an enlightening and personal journey into the practice of groundbreaking science

" Giorgio Parisi is an extraordinary scientist." -Carlo Rovelli

With In a Flight of Starlings , celebrated physicist Giorgio Parisi guides us through his unorthodox yet exhilarating work, starting with investigating the principles of physics by observing the flight of flocks of birds. Studying the movements of these communities, he has realized, proves an illuminating way into understanding complex systems of all kinds-collections of everything from atoms and planets to other animals, such as ourselves.

Along the way, he reflects on the lessons he has taken from a life in pursuit of scientific truth- the importance of serendipity to the discovery of new ideas, the surprising kinship between physics and other disciplines, and the value of science to a thriving society. In so doing, he removes the practice of science from the confines of the laboratory and brings it into the real world.

Part elegant scientific treatise, part thrilling journey of discovery, In a Flight of Starlings is an invitation to find wonder in the world around us.

Text in English, translated from the Italian.

"Copyright © 2021 by Mondadori Libri S.p.A., Milano. Translation copyright © 2023 by Simon Carnell ... Originally published in Italian under the title In un volo di storni by Rizzoli, Milan"--Copyright page.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 121-124) and index.

In a flight of starlings -- Physics in Rome, around fifty years ago -- Je ne regrette rien -- Phase transitions, or collective phenomena -- Spin glasses: the introduction of disorder -- Metaphors in science -- How ideas are born -- The meaning of science.

"From the 2021 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, an enlightening and personal journey into the practice of groundbreaking science. In a Flight of Starlings, already a #1 bestseller in his native Italy, celebrated physicist Giorgio Parisi guides us through his unorthodox yet exhilarating work: investigating the principles of physics by observing the flight of flocks of birds. Studying the movements of these communities, he has realized, proves an illuminating way into understanding complex systems of all kinds--collections of everything from atoms and planets to other animals like ourselves. Along the way, he reflects on the lessons he's taken from a life in pursuit of scientific truth: the importance of serendipity to the discovery of new ideas, the surprising kinship between physics and other disciplines, and the value of science to a thriving society. In so doing, he removes the practice of science from the confines of the laboratory and into the real world. Part elegant scientific treatise, part thrilling journey of discovery, In a Flight of Starlings is an invitation to find wonder in the world around us."-- Provided by publisher.

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