Book reviews
The self-made
tapestry—pattern
formation in nature
P Ball
Oxford University Press
HK$300, pp 286
ISBN 0 19 850244 3
E-mail: oupchina@
oupchina.com.hk
The atom in the
history of human
thought
B Pullman
Oxford University Press
HK$305, pp 392
ISBN 0 19 51147 47 7
E-mail: oupchina@
oupchina.com.hk
6
academyfocus
E
arly in my school years, I always thought that
subjects like physics and mathematics were
distinct from biology and perhaps geography.
Although I saw geometry in floral diagrams that I used
to draw and regular hexagons in beehives that never
failed to put me in awe, I never went further to look
at the role of physics or mathematics behind these
aspects of nature.
In The self-made tapestry—pattern formation in
nature, Peter Ball gave me quite a fresh look at the
issue again. This book is about the development of
pattern and form. Patterns are typically extended in
space, while forms are bounded and finite. As illustrations, the author includes the waves of the sea,
the sweeping curve of a sandy bay, paddy fields in
China, the outline of hills, and the shapes of clouds.
Ball explains their development from a mathematical
and physical perspective. Stripes of a zebra? Wing patterns of butterflies? Are these more involved with genetics or Darwinism? With the use of mathematics,
physics, and chemistry, the author gives us a new insight into these natural patterns. Using extensively the
reaction-diffusion system of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky
reaction and the activator-inhibitor model of the mathematician Alan Turing, the author shows us how these
patterns could have come about naturally and thereby
presents a marriage of physics and biology.
In the 10 chapters of the book, the author covers
the finest detail of viruses, the intricacies of a beehive,
the unpredictability of clouds, the shaping of magnificent mountain ranges, and great forces behind
earthquakes. He elegantly explains their formation and
even attempts to shed some light on our own behavioural pattern, how we interact with our neighbours,
and how we build our cities.
The mathematical theories and chemical reactions
are displayed in a very palatable form. To satisfy readers looking for more or even to create some of these
tapestries themselves, there are seven appendices in
which simple experiments are described. This is a book
well written and I enjoyed every page of it.
T
whole idea, which were started by contemporary Greek
anti-atomist philosophers, continued by clergy and
scholars during the Dark Ages, and revitalised in the
acrimonious academic battle between atomists ad nonatomists in the 18th and 19th centuries. The balance
was tipped in favour of the atomists by the advent of
organic synthesis and the coup de grace was finally
delivered by Niels Bohr with his imaginative atomic
model.
Did the Chinese contribute anything to the
atomic concept? They did so indirectly, as Bohr’s
atomic model is based on the concept of complementarity—the same principle used by Leucippus and
Democritus—to bridge the gap between two impossibilities and to describe atomic phenomena in quantum
terms, while still preserving the use of the ordinary
language of physics. (Bohr was well aware of the Chinese
version of complementarity—the Yin/Yang principle—
to the extent that he incorporated the classical symbol into his coat of arms, when knighted by the Danish King for his services to science.)
The atom in the history of human thought illustrates that the evolution of fundamental concepts is
frail and that their progression is easily suppressed
by dogma and human nature. It is remarkable that
the notion of the atom has become accepted after
millennia of debate. Which other concepts have not
made it to the finishing line, having been forced to
stop dead in their tracks? Pullman’s brilliant parting
gift has much to offer both to ‘atomists’ and to anyone who is interested in how concepts are developed
and progressed.
he atomic theory is usually attributed to the
early Greek philosophers, Leucippus and
Democritus, of the 5th century BC, but the journey from the conception to the acceptance of atoms as
the cornerstones of matter lasted more than 2500 years.
The late Bernard Pullman, Professor of Quantum
Chemistry at the University of Sorbonne until his
untimely death in 1996, offers a fascinating account
of how a thought experiment by two ancient Greek
philosophers emerged theoretically and experimentally
substantiated after more than two millennia. His book
is an account of not only the history of atomism but
also its philosophy, and the main principles of successive philosophical schools are illustrated by example.
Pullman has blended facts, anecdotal evidence, and
statements—made by preoccupied philosophers and
scientists as the atomic idea progressed from century
to century—with his own interpretative remarks. This
makes the presentation of a complex matter admirably
clear and understandable to specialists and laymen
alike. In addition, much of the interesting information provided is not so well known or is difficult to
find. As a result, the reader is absorbed in discovering
how the entire epic journey unfolds.
A revealing fact in the book is that similar and
contemporary ideas about atomism were being developed in India from Hindu philosophy. This remarkable coincidence has raised the question of possible
cross-fertilization between the two philosophical
schools. Holding international conferences could be
as old as atomism! The concept of atomism developed
as a synthesis of two conflicting philosophical views—
one put forward by Empedocles that “everything constantly changes”, and the other by Parmenides that
“nothing in nature is changing”. The synthesis created
the concept of the ‘atoma’—the indivisible, but in
constant motion. We learn about rejections of the
spring 2000
Dr DTS Fong, FHKAM (Surgery)
Department of Neurosurgery
Tuen Mun Hospital
Tuen Mun, Hong Kong
Prof NM Hjelm, FHKAM (Pathology)
Department of Anatomical and Cellular Pathology
Prince of Wales Hospital
Shatin, Hong Kong