The Self-made Tapestry by Philip Ball

In the Self-made Tapestry, Philip Ball draws our attention to pattern formation in nature, outlines the beauty inherent in them, asks as why they form, and what other patterns are similar to them, and then provides a taste of how the physicists and mathematicians comprehend them and explain their form and function.

The science is present as both a quest for beauty and truth. The methods - experimentation and computation- are expounded, explained. Basic ideas, based on surface tension, viscosity, friction, forces, optics, chaos theory, and self-organized criticality are introduced and used in talking about as complex patterns as exist in turbulent streams or populations of predators and preys.

There are snapshots of history of a problem, tit-bits about the scientists who solved them and illustrations and examples of how one solution serves to solve different problems. Be it the assembly of bubbles or foam, sand-dunes or spiral patterns on sea-shells, Turing patterns in chemical medium or oscillatory patterns in Belousovy-Zhabotinsky reaction, the spiral waves in human heart or spots on leopard, the shape of rivers or mountains, colonies of bacteria or human cities, or convection patterns in oil heated in pan or corresponding ones in Earth mantle, the book explores a series of interesting, informative and educational patterns, throwing light on their existence and extent of our scientific understanding.

Philip Ball does a great job, given the diverse nature of physical concepts blended into this very delightful read, and the ease at which he allows the reader to appreciate experimental and theoretical research that have begun to emerge in the field of non-linear dynamics and chaos. The bibliography at the end lists a good many books and papers that are considered definitive reading in the field. A few characters are credited, though many more stars remain unexplored in this rich and intricate sky of non-linear physics. Given the intent and extent of the book, I will recommend it to everyone with interest in understanding why the world around us is full of shapes, patterns, forms, fractals and picturesque expression of color and figures.