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"VIGNETTE"
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(Nature’s Numbers by Ian Stewart )
CHAPTER 5-9
SUBMITTED BY:
Alar , Morfydd T.
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(CHAPTER 5). From Violins to Videos
My first summarization about this chapter is that Stewart makes the point that mathematical theory tends to start
with the simple and immediate and grow ever-more complicated. This is because of a basic principle, which is
that you have to start somewhere. A fascinating historical recap of how initial investigations into the way a
violin string vibrates gave rise to formulae and equations which turned out to be useful in mapping electricity
and magnetism, which turned out to be aspects of the same fundamental force, the understanding of which
underpinned the invention of radio, radar, TV etc – taking in descriptions of the contributions from Michael
Faraday, James Clerk Maxwell, Heinrich Hertz and Guglielmo Marconi.
Stewart makes the point that mathematical theory tends to start with the simple and immediate and grow ever-
more complicated. This is because of a basic principle, which is that you have to start somewhere.
(CHAPTER 6). Broken Symmetry

My summarization for the chapter 6 is the propensity of symmetries and geometries and geometries to show up
in a natural objects can sometimes be traced to the objects. A symmetry of an object or system is any
transformation that leaves it invariant. There are many types of symmetry. The most important ones are
reflections, rotations and translations.
(CHAPTER 7). The Rhythm of Life

My summarization for chapter 7 is a subject Stewart has written about elsewhere and is something of an expert
onThe nature of oscillation and Hopf bifurcation (if a simplified system wobbles, then so must the complex
system it is derived from) leads into a discussion of how animals – specifically animals with legs – move, which
is by staggered or syncopated oscillations, oscillations of muscles triggered by neural circuits in the brain. The
seven types of quadrupedal gait are: the trot, pace, bound, walk, rotary gallop, transverse gallop, and canter.
(CHAPTER 8). Do Dice Play God?

My summarization for the second to the last chapter is that Stewart’s take on chaos theory. Chaotic behaviour
obeys deterministic laws, but is so irregular that to the untrained eye it looks pretty much random. Chaos
is not complicated, patternless behaviour; it is much more subtle. Chaos
is apparently complicated, apparently patternless behaviour that actually has a simple, deterministic
explanation. Stewart goes on to explain the concept of ‘phase space’ developed by Henri Poincaré: this is an
imaginary mathematical space that represents all possible motions in a given dynamic system. The phase
space is the 3-D place in which you plot the behaviour in order to create the phase portrait. Instead of having to
define a formula and worrying about identifying every number of the behaviour, the general shape can be
determined. Much use of phase portraits has shown that dynamic systems tend to have set shapes which emerge
and which systems move towards. These are called attractors.
(CHAPTER 9). Drops, Dynamics and Daisies
And for my summarization for the last chapter for our vignette this book ends by drawing a kind of
philosophical conclusion.
Chaos theory has all sorts of implications but the one Stewart closes on is this: the world is not chaotic; if
anything, it is boringly predictable. And at the level of basic physics and maths, the laws which seem to
underpin it are also schematic and simple. And yet, what we are only really beginning to appreciate is how
complicated things are in the middle.
It is as if nature can only get from simple laws (like Newton’s incredibly simple law of thermodynamics) to
fairly simple outcomes (the orbit of the planets) via almost incomprehensibly complex processes.
To end, Stewart gives us three examples of the way apparently ‘simple’ phenomena in nature derive from
stupefying complexity:
 what exactly happens when a drop of water falls off a tap

 computer modelling of the growth of fox and rabbit populations
 why petals on flowers are arranged in numbers derived from the Fibonacci sequence
In all three cases the underlying principles seem to be resolvable into easily stated laws and functions – and we
see water dropping off taps or flowerheads all the time – and yet the intermediate steps between principle and
real world embodiment, are mind-bogglingly complex.

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How does mathematical theory tend to develop according to the author?

What are the different types of symmetry mentioned in the text?

"VIGNETTE"

(CHAPTER 6). Broken Symmetry

(CHAPTER 7). The Rhythm of Life

(CHAPTER 8). Do Dice Play God?

(CHAPTER 9). Drops, Dynamics and Daisies

 what exactly happens when a drop of water falls off a tap

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