Geoffrey West: The surprising math of cities and corporations

http://www.ted.com Physicist Geoffrey West has found that simple, mathematical laws govern the properties of cities -- that wealth, crime rate, walking speed and many other aspects of a city can be deduced from a single number: the city's population. In this mind-bending talk from TEDGlobal he shows how it works and how similar laws hold for organisms and corporations.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate.

• Category

  Science & Technology

[balisticsquirel]

Very good talk because: it makes one think.

BUT I just want anyone watching who hasn't studied science to know that this is not a scientific talk.

[Tom Bosschaert]

This is an interesting talk, and there's a lot of valuable information in here, but I also fear some of the arguments are too simplistic, making the danger of increased externalization apparent. The indicators tested (such as income) are not necessarily primary goals. Also, the story seems to go counter to Joseph Tainter's more long-term and more comprehensive arguments about diminishing marginal returns, which govern systems such as cities as well and have profound effects in the long run.

[antonpictures]

free movies

[stephen782009]

so the more wealth I have the better I am for the economy.

[h4ck314]

Cities are meant to grow faster, taller and wider. But efficient and sustainable growth can only be achieved with the commitment of people, governments and policymakers altogether. Duh yes

[honkronk]

somebody doesn't believe in aliens @ 6:40

[Joseph Huntington]

America is in its death rattle. Go to any large city and go beneath the bridge. Look up. What do you see? Replacing gusset plates is disgraceful. The next generation will be buried before they are old enough to know why.

[Evan Dahm]

well, don't many people die because of coincidence instead of "natural fate" ?

[x89codered89x]

Here's his real talk his TED talk is digested from:

watch?v=DFFVSvAr7Wc

[Migs M.]

after watching more than 30 TEDtalks video, i'm starting to think (and feel) that applause at the beginning is a nuisance.

[jjiimm2011]

i say abort this ass hole and use him as fertilizer

[sathasiva1885]

There was only 4 billion population in 1976 and in another decade it will be doubeld to 8 billions.What is needed not simple mathematics to model cities but serious planning to move people from cities otherwise the poor people of the world would start blaming the planners and polticians for not giving proper guidance.What is needed is attempt to control population isntead of hiding behind relious belief and lead people up garden path.Not maths but wise action to move people away from cities.