The artful universe expanded / / John D. Barrow

• Record Nr.: UNINA9910790028503321
• Autore: Barrow John D. <1952-2020, >
• Pubbl/distr/stampa: New York : , : Oxford University Press, , 2011; ©2005
• ISBN: 0-19-153955-4; 0-19-161583-8
• Edizione: [2nd ed.]
• Descrizione fisica: 1 online resource (336 p. ) : ill
• Disciplina: 111.85
• Soggetti: Art - History; Nature (Aesthetics); Art and science
• Lingua di pubblicazione: Inglese
• Formato: Materiale a stampa
• Livello bibliografico: Monografia
• Note generali: Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph
• Nota di bibliografia: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• Nota di contenuto: Cover Page -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Preface -- Preface to new edition -- Contents -- 1. Tales of the unexpected -- 2. The impact of evolution -- A room with a view: matters of perspective -- The mind-benders: distortions of thought and space -- The inheritors: adaptation and evolution -- After Babel: a linguistic digression -- A sense of reality: the evolution of mental pictures -- The care and maintenance of a small planet: cosmic environmentalism -- Gravity's rainbow: the fabric of the world -- Chronicle of a death foretold: of death and immortality -- The human factor: light in the darkness -- The world is not enough: the grand illusion -- 3. Size, life, and landscape -- A delicate balance: equilibria in the Universe -- Of mice and men: life on Earth -- The jagged edge: living fractals -- Bilateral agreements: appreciating curves -- Fractal expressionism: the strange case of Jack the Dripper -- War and peace: size and culture -- Far from the madding crowd: the size of populations -- Les liaisons dangereuses: complexity, mobility, and cultural evolution -- Network news: branching out -- The Go-Betweenies: messing with Mister In-Between -- The rivals: the evolution of cooperation -- The secret garden: the art of landscape -- Figures in a landscape: the dilemma of computer art -- Midnight's children: a first glimpse of the stars -- 4. ; The heavens and the Earth -- The remains of the day: rhythms of life -- Empire of the Sun: the reasons for the seasons -- Extrasolar planets: a case of spatial prejudice -- A handful of dust: the Earth below -- Pebble in the sky: the Moon above -- Darkness at noon: eclipses -- Hamlet's mill: the wandering Pole Star -- Paper moon: controlling chaotic planets -- Mars in your eyes: they came from outer space -- The man who was Thursday: the origins of the week.; Long day's journey into night: the origin of the constellations -- Study in scarlet: the sources of colour vision -- Outward bound: the way of the world -- 5. The natural history of noise -- The club of queer trades: soundscapes -- Sense and sensibility: a matter of timing -- Incidental music: a harmless by-product? -- The glass bead game: the music of the spheres -- Player piano: hearing by numbers -- The sound of silence: decomposing music -- The imitation game: listlessness -- The sound of music: hearing and listening -- Adventures of Roderick Random: white noise, pink noise, and black noise -- 6. All's well that ends well -- Bibliography -- Illustration acknowledgements -- Index -- Footnotes -- pg11fn1 -- pg11fn2 -- pg13fn1 -- pg19fn1 -- pg25fn1 -- pg28fn1 -- pg28fn2 -- pg38fn1 -- pg40fn1 -- pg41fn1 -- pg44fn1 -- pg46fn1 -- pg46fn2 -- pg64fn1 -- pg83fn1 -- pg84fn1 -- pg90fn1 -- pg96fn1 -- pg109fn1 -- pg111fn1 -- pg113fn1 -- pg127fn1 -- pg138fn1 -- pg142fn1 -- pg143fn2 -- pg148fn1 -- pg158fn1 -- pg162fn1 -- pg163fn1 -- pg173fn1 -- pg173fn2 -- pg178fn1 -- pg179fn2 -- pg181fn1 -- pg187fn1 -- pg188fn1 -- pg189fn1 -- pg195fn1 -- pg196fn1 -- pg197fn1 -- pg197fn2 -- pg207fn1 -- pg209fn1 -- pg210fn2 -- pg212fn1 -- pg213fn1 -- pg215fn1 -- pg216fn2 -- pg218fn1 -- pg230fn1 -- pg238fn1 -- pg242fn1 -- pg248fn1 -- pg249fn1 -- pg257fn1 -- pg259fn1 -- pg261fn1 -- pg262fn1 -- pg262fn2 -- pg263fn1 -- pg268fn1 -- pg270fn1 -- pg273fn1 -- pg274fn1 -- pg275fn1.
• Sommario/riassunto: John Barrow looks at the relationship between the way our understanding of the universe reflects the ways in which evolution has shaped our brains, and our expression of that understanding in science, maths and art.