EAN: 9780063324091

SIZE - VACLAV SMIL GEBUNDEN

From the New York Times bestselling author of How the World Really Works  a wide-ranging look
at the most fundamental governing principle of our world: size  whose laws  limits  and
peculiarities offer the key to understanding health  wealth  and even happiness No one writes
about the great issues of our time with more rigor or erudition than Vaclav Smil. - Elizabeth
Kolbert To answer the most important questions of our age  we must understand size. Neither
bacteria nor empires are immune to its laws. Measuring it is challenging  especially where
complex systems like economies are concerned  yet mastering it offers rich rewards: the rise of
the West  for example  was a direct result of ever more accurate and standardized measurements.
Using the interdisciplinary approach that has won him a wide readership  Smil draws upon
history  earth science  psychology  art  and more to offer fresh insight into some of our
biggest challenges  including income inequality  the spread of infectious disease  and the
uneven impacts of climate change. Size explains the regularities-and peculiarities-of the key
processes shaping life (from microbes to whales)  the Earth (from asteroids to volcanic
eruptions)  technical advances (from architecture to transportation)  and societies and
economies (from cities to wages). This book about the big and the small  and the relationship
between them  answers the big and small questions of human existence: What makes a human
society too big? What about a human being? Which alternative energy sources have the best
chance of scaling and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels? Why do tall people make more
money? What makes a face beautiful? How about a cathedral? How can changing the size of your
plates help you lose weight? The latest masterwork of an ambitious and astonishing polymath who
swings for fences (Wired) Size is a mind-bending journey that turns the modern world on its
head.

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