The Algorithmic Beauty of Seashells

Trying to understand the growth and development of multicellular organisms has been one of the most intriguing subjects of research for centuries. More recently, with the help of mathematical models and computerized simulations, scientists have discovered algorithmic patterns and models that seem to describe the dynamic processes in which organisms grow, reproduce and respond to external factors. In this book, Hans Meinhardt uses sea shells to explain and illustrate structure growth patterns in nature. A diskette, packaged with the book, contains the algorithms and simulations necessary to replicate the results.