Evolutionary Dynamics

A review of a new book, “Evolutionary Dynamics” by Martin A. Nowak

Martin Nowak is certainly not alone when he argues, in Evolutionary Dynamics, that evolution is the single most significant idea in biology. But almost all major mathematical syntheses of evolution have been confined to population genetics–the study of gene frequency changes in populations. By contrast, Nowak (a professor of biology and mathematics at Harvard) follows up on Hardy’s last qualification for a great idea by showing the many ways in which the mathematics of evolution lead to advances in diverse subjects, including cancer, game theory, and language.