In a Flight of Starlings

The Wonders of Complex Systems

De: Giorgio Parisi

Narrado por: Stephen Graybill

From the 2021 Nobel Prize winner in Physics, an enlightening and personal journey into the practice of groundbreaking science

“[Giorgio Parisi is] an extraordinary scientist.” —Carlo Rovelli

With In a Flight of Starlings, celebrated physicist Giorgio Parisi guides us through his unorthodox yet exhilarating work, starting with investigating the principles of physics by observing the flight of flocks of birds. Studying the movements of these communities, he has realized, proves an illuminating way into understanding complex systems of all kinds—collections of everything from atoms and planets to other animals, such as ourselves.

Along the way, he reflects on the lessons he has taken from a life in pursuit of scientific truth: the importance of serendipity to the discovery of new ideas, the surprising kinship between physics and other disciplines, and the value of science to a thriving society. In so doing, he removes the practice of science from the confines of the laboratory and brings it into the real world.

Part elegant scientific treatise, part thrilling journey of discovery, In a Flight of Starlings is an invitation to find wonder in the world around us.

©2023 Giorgio Parisi (P)2023 Penguin Audio

Reseñas de la Crítica

“Parisi’s voice is amiable and conversational, which endows [In a Flight of Starlings] with the feel of a conversation with a wise and generous elder.” —Kirkus

“[Giorgio Parisi is] an extraordinary scientist.” —Carlo Rovelli

“Giorgio Parisi is renowned for his scientific creativity, originality, and power. In this exhilarating little book, he shows his human side, too. By its end, readers will feel they’ve made a charming, witty new friend.” —Frank Wilczek, winner of the Nobel Prize and author of Fundamentals

Funeral Dirge

I đon’t know why the narrator chose a snail’s pace, but I had to speed it up to maintain interest from beginning to end of a sentence. I found 1.4 made it normal.

I have several degrees, including computer science and applied statistics, yet I found it difficult to follow. And I still do not understand why a murder of thousands of starlings fly in such a beautifully choreographed flight.

Parisi autobiography

Reads mostly as the author’s autobiography since the percentage of sentences including first person personal pronouns is very large.
Nonetheless worth a listen for people interested in complexity as a term in mathematics and physics

Incoherent and somewhat uninteresting

A bit of waste of time. The book lacked coherence, and none of the chapters really did stand out as interesting.

Mistitled

Less than five percent of this book addresses starlings. If you’re a bird lover, rather than a history of physics fan, be warned: you will be disappointed,