Sync

How Order Emerges from Chaos in the Universe, Nature, and Daily Life

By: Steven Strogatz

Narrated by: Kevin T. Collins

Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins

Publisher's summary

The tendency to synchronize may be the most mysterious and pervasive drive in all of nature. It has intrigued some of the most brilliant minds of the 20th century, including Albert Einstein, Richard Feynman, Norbert Wiener, Brian Josephson, and Arthur Winfree.

At once elegant and riveting, Sync tells the story of the dawn of a new science. Steven Strogatz, a leading mathematician in the fields of chaos and complexity theory, explains how enormous systems can synchronize themselves, from the electrons in a superconductor to the pacemaker cells in our hearts. He shows that although these phenomena might seem unrelated on the surface, at a deeper level there is a connection, forged by the unifying power of mathematics.

©2003 Steven H. Strogatz (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

" Sync is a wonderfully lucid and thoroughly entertaining story of the emerging science of synchrony." (Brian Greene, author of The Elegant Universe, Professor of Physics and Mathematics, Columbia University)

"Inspiring... offers a real sense of what it's like to be at the beginning of Something Big." ( New Scientist)

"Beautifully written and breathtaking in scope, SYNC tells both a personal and a scientific story." (Charles S. Peskin, Professor of Mathematics and Neural Science, New York University)

Insightful

What did you like best about Sync? What did you like least?

The simplistic intro to the topic enticed me to continue. It follows logic and can be applied to a variety of life situations.
The middle-end was a bit beyond what I was looking for, more technical than necessary for my interest.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sync?

Snowflakes!

What aspect of Kevin T. Collins’s performance would you have changed?

For my interest, I would like for the author to continue with a more practical application of the subject. For other readers, this might be just what they're looking for.

Was Sync worth the listening time?

Not for me but I did not read through to the end.

Any additional comments?

Have a nice day!

The James Gleick of a new era!

As what the aptly titled "Chaos" by James Gleick was to Chaos theory, Sync is the full story of the most current revolution in applied mathematics. It is told through the words, and lens of the career of one of the pioneers in the field. The narrator can be methodically slow at times, but as the contents are dense, I understand the reasoning. A must read (listen) for anyone with an appreciation of, and curiosity about the similarities across various sciences.

Fascinating Aspect of Life and Non-life

Any additional comments?

This is a reasonably well written work about a phenomenon most of us wouldn't normally pay attention to. Worth the read.

Stretching the topic

If you could sum up Sync in three words, what would they be?

The subject of this book is synchronicity in nature, and perhaps the author stretches the meaning of the word to fit chaos theory and other sectors of physics. He is contrary to the Jungian thoughts of synchornicity and of scientists who favor Jung.

Eye opening

The content of this book is enlightening. Thank you Steven for putting in words a topic so difficult to express, yet so critical for us all to comprehend.
Yes, at times it was difficult to follow, however, I won’t complain because it would be ironic to provide this feedback to a book which title is ‘Sync.’ If you truly care to understand you would find a way to sync with the content. It is also a great opportunity to work on your visualization skills.
I would recommend this book to anyone even slightly interested.

After listening, can't explain to others.

The book is not an easy listen. Be prepared for statements like "the coherence of the neurons in our brain are best thought of as solving a differential equation to determine the equilibrium solution involved in the non-linear system....".

The book covers many diverse topics, from why does the face of the moon always face towards us to how does a laser work. The author ties all of the topics together by showing how each of the constituent parts acts to produce the whole system.

Each of the different topics was exciting, but I did not understand the topic well enough to explain it to others after having listened to the topic. That probably means he didn't explain the topic at a simple enough level for me to understand.

Any high school student or college beginner who is thinking about majoring in mathematics should listen to this book. The author presents the exciting diverse fields available for the math practitioner.

Deep and comprehensive book about science of sync

This must be the best pop-sci book I've read this year. The reason I liked it is simply because it is deep and well written. Author really dives into details of how a particular research was done and how a particular phenomenon works. He provides metaphors, which are helpful, if somewhat obscure at times (though this provided a rich source of laughter for me). Being a scientist myself, I found his analogies quite precise and revealing.

Books like this one are rare. Most pop-sci books are 80% personal stories or anecdotal evidence, and only 20% science (good example is "The Talent Code" I read just before this book). This one is 20% stories, 80% science. And in this ratio stories can actually be enjoyable and funny.

I said it once and I'll say it again: leave the content of pop-sci books to actual scientists. They'll almost always do a better job than journalists.

The narration is OK. I didn't find any flaws except for mispronunciation of Christoph Koch's surname (he is German, so it is not what you would expect). I didn't particularly care for the intonations of the voice, I think for a scientific book they were at times a bit too dramatic.

Fascinating and thought provoking

A great guide through the development of chaos, complexity, and whatever we were at the book's writing. Told with a pleasant mix of back story and science.

Pitched at just the right level

An instructive and extremely copious explanation of contemporary scientific and mathematical concepts explained in reference to repetition and simultaneous processes in nature. The author clearly loves to teachy and pitches it just right for the informed layman. Any time a concept or tangent arises the author provides a whole new line of explanation. Very generous and instructive.

SYNCHRONICITY

Sync…is a puzzling audio book written about synchronicity by Steven Strogatz. It is puzzling because of its 4 out of 5 star review by Audible.com listeners. Strogatz’s audio book and his TED lecture and YouTube’ videos are difficult to appreciate. His theory of sync is broadly acclaimed by himself and others but utility appears either unclaimed or unexplained. Of course, science is science and utility often comes long after discovery.

Strogatz’s sync is a state of being that was unknown to the general public until his 2003 book. The theory of sync infers the truth of “spooky action at a distance” (aka “entanglement”) which may open a door to communication speeds greater than the speed-of-light. Such an improvement in communication speed would overturn a fundamental law of physics (nothing exceeds the speed of light, according to Einstein). When humans reach the stars, the principle of sync could make interstellar communication possible. Sync phenomena may be a critical component of humanity’s future but today it seems more like a magician’s parlor trick.

In the end, even if Strogatz is correct about sync, existence remains mired in an unpredictable, probabilistic, and chaotic world.