Sync
The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order
By Steven Strogatz
Hyperion
HC, 338 pgs. US$24.95/C$36.95
ISBN: 0-7868-6844-9
Studying the heartbeat of the universe
By Steven Martinovich
web posted March 17, 2003
A casual observer of the universe would tend to believe that we
are surrounded by chaos. From the continuing turmoil on planet
Earth to the spectacular ages-old dance of stars and planets,
colliding and collapsing seemingly at random, one would be
tempted to believe that there is little real order. A closer look
though reveals what scientist and mathematician Steven Strogatz
refers to as the "steady, insistent beat" at the heart of the
universe, the sound of "cycles in sync."
In Sync: The Emerging Science of Spontaneous Order Strogatz
argues that our lives are ruled by synchrony, from the cells in our
bodies to the behavior of stock traders on Wall Street. Despite
that, however, the study of synchrony is still in its infancy. The
sync of inanimate objects was first observed by Christian
Huygens in 1665 and yet the field was barely explored for
centuries. At the heart of sync is a mathematics that is just now
only being slowly piece together by people like Strogatz.
"Only in a few situations do we have a clear understanding of
how order arises on its own. The first case to yield was a
particular kind of order in physical space involving
perfectly repetitive architectures. It's the kind of order that
occurs whenever the temperature drops below the freezing point
and trillions of water molecules spontaneously lock themselves
into a rigid, symmetrical crystal of ice. Explaining order in
time, however, has proved to be more problematic. Even the
simplest possibility, where the same things happen at the same
times, has turned out to be remarkably subtle. This is the order
we call synchrony."
The primary puzzle in the study of sync is how systems organize
themselves, from the basic to the extraordinarily complex. A real
world example of self-organizing systems are fireflies. For
decades travelers to South-East Asia have reported gatherings
of fireflies stretching along riverbanks for miles, all their lights
incredibly blinking on and off in unison. Explaining how
thousands of autonomous beings, each interacting with each
other, coordinate such a behavior promises a glimpse at the very
heartbeat of everything.
Nor is spontaneous order simply seen in nature. As Strogatz
points out, many of the systems that human beings have created
reflect an unplanned order, such as the interlocking web of
electrical power grids. Even traffic jams, Strogatz illustrates at
one point, are a function of synchrony though that might be small
comfort to you the next time you're trapped in one. Synchrony
seems to lie in the heart of everything.
While Strogatz does a remarkable job illustrating the science
behind synchrony without clogging Sync with dense mathematics,
he surprisingly ignores for the most part the philosophical
ramifications of synchrony. Although scientists have only
relatively recently begun to delve deep into how order manifests
itself over time, philosophers -- secular and otherwise -- have
grappled with these questions for centuries. Religious thinkers,
for example, have long pointed to synchrony in the universe as
proof of a higher power. Along with the sense of wonder that
Sync gives us about order, it could have also served to introduce
the reader to some deeper questions to consider.
Despite that failing, Sync is an fascinating look at a scientific field
that grows more interesting by the day. As one of the pioneers in
its study, Strogatz is well-placed to report on the science and the
people behind it. Few books on such a complex topic can claim
to be easily read and appreciated by the layperson but Sync
manages exactly that.
Steven Martinovich is a freelance writer in Sudbury, Ontario.
Enter Stage Right -- http://www.enterstageright.com