On Growth and Form

Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson's influential work, On Growth and Form (1917), approached the study of organismal growth and structure through mathematical and physical principles, diverging from the prevailing zoological focus on comparative anatomy and evolutionary theory. Thompson proposed a theory of transformation, viewing species evolution as significant overall changes rather than incremental alterations to body parts. His work explored how physical laws and mathematical properties, rather than solely adaptation, could dictate an organism's form. For instance, he suggested that the spiral patterns in pinecones or sunflowers are a result of mathematical properties, and the shape of a jellyfish is due to fluid dynamics. This perspective challenged the idea that all forms are direct adaptations, highlighting that form can also be an incidental outcome of underlying physical and mathematical constraints.12