Sync: How Order Emerges from Chaos In the Universe, Nature, and Daily Life

A wonderfully lucid and thoroughly entertaining story of the emerging science of synchrony. —Brian Greene, national bestselling author of The Elegant Universe , Professor of Physics and Mathematics, Columbia University

At the heart of the universe is a steady, insistent beat, the sound of cycles in sync. Along the tidal rivers of Malaysia, thousands of fireflies congregate and flash in unison; the moon spins in perfect resonance with its orbit around the earth; our hearts depend on the synchronous firing of ten thousand pacemaker cells. While the forces that synchronize the flashing of fireflies may seem to have nothing to do with our heart cells, there is in fact a deep connection.

Synchrony is a science in its infancy, and Strogatz is a pioneer in this new frontier in which mathematicians and physicists attempt to pinpoint just how spontaneous order emerges from chaos. From underground caves in Texas where a French scientist spent six months alone tracking his sleep-wake cycle, to the home of a Dutch physicist who in 1665 discovered two of his pendulum clocks swinging in perfect time, this fascinating book spans disciplines, continents, and centuries. Engagingly written, Sync is a tour-de-force of nonfiction writing.

Strogatz . . . is a first-rate storyteller and an even better teacher . . . Sync is a great read. — Nature

Describes dozens of sights and sounds that arise from collective, synchronized behavior . . .Delightful. — Discover

Offers a real sense of what it's like to be at the beginning of Something Big. — New Scientist

Compulsively readable. — Science