In this year’s Simonyi Lecture, Geoffrey West discusses the universal laws that govern everything from the growth of plants and animals to cities and corporations. These laws help us to answer big, urgent questions about global sustainability, population explosion, urbanization, ageing, cancer, human lifespans and the increasing pace of life.
Why can we live for 120 years but not for a thousand? Why do mice live for just two or three years and elephants for up to 75? Why do companies behave like mice, and are they all destined to die? Do cities, companies and human beings have natural, pre-determined lifespans?
Geoffrey West is a theoretical physicist whose primary interests have been in fundamental questions in physics and biology. West is a Senior Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory and a distinguished professor at the Sante Fe Institute, where he served as the president from 2005-2009. In 2006 he was named to Time’s list of The 100 Most Influential People in the World.
This lecture will take place at the Oxford Playhouse, Beaumont Street. Book here