"Quote" -- Who
Up to this point, the book has emphasized conceptual and aesthetic perspectives of patterns in nature. Moreso, great emphasis has been placed on the idea that all patterns in nature are connected in some way.
With this basis, we now discuss common groups of patterns. We first look at nature's patterns in space and in time -- patterns in form and in function. Some of these patterns, especially ecosystems, are considered contextual. But, the intimate relationships between form, function, and context make separate classifications difficult and perhaps misleading.
Under the category of space and time, we examine the ubiquitous fractal, spiral, cyclical, and emergent patterns in nature. We then turn to a selected group of specific patterns that exist within one or more of the aforementioned space and time groups. These patterns include epidemics, ecosystems, honeycombs, percolation, and diffusion limited aggregation (DLA).
We then move on to examine patterns in intelligence and behavior. This topic is rarely covered as patterns in nature even though intelligence and behavior (and its corollary - language and communications) are certainly important patterns that have developed in most living creatures. We discuss intelligence and instinct, memes, and the broad topic of sociobiology.
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