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Parallels: A Broad Look at Nature's Fascinating Ways
SURY V.S, author
The phenomena and events which occur (incessantly) in nature are countless. But on careful observation, we can notice that some form of common threads run across different platforms or fields.
The term ‘parallels’ has been adopted in this book to denote such occurrences. These fascinating parallels can be found amidst the world of human affairs also, apart from the natural, scientific laws and theories.
The writers, especially poets had long ago noticed many obvious similarities and expressed them in their works in the form of beautiful similes and metaphors. This book is an attempt at gathering such metaphors, seeing them from new angles and interlinking the occurrences across diverse fields, such as physics, engineering, technology, chemistry, biology, psychology, politics, sociology and so on, to name a few. There is no limit to the topics, as the enterprising reader will soon realise.
To give a small foretaste, look at how a very huge unit (or organisation, or organism, or machine) is very conveniently and smartly assembled out of many smaller units. The beauty is that the smaller constituent units work independently, and at the same time are also a part of the whole. Take human individuals, and as a parallel (the theme of this book) the physical house in which they dwell. Individuals come together and make families. Families live together and make groups or organisations, or societies. They, in turn combine and grow into states; states join up and become a nation. All nations, of course make up the world – whether they like it or not! Physical, purely material entities like houses and possessions run in a parallel stream with those of the human ideologies. The same method is employed by Nature in building its vast empire. Fundamental particles join and exist together to make up atoms. Atoms join and make up molecules. Out of the molecules all of the planet earth is made. Planets and a star join and make a solar system. Millions of them combine and make a galaxy. Billions and trillions of them make a universe – like ours.
There are innumerable such examples in the world we live in. An attempt has been made in this book to bring together a few interesting examples among them.