Includes bibliographical references (p. [365]-368) and index.

Prologue: the emergence of understanding -- ch. 1. Evolution: the emergence of complexity -- ch. 2. DNA: the rationalization of biology -- ch. 3. Energy: the universalization of accountancy -- ch. 4. Entropy: the spring of change -- ch. 5. Atoms: the reduction of matter -- ch. 6. Symmetry: the quantification of beauty -- ch. 7. Quanta: the simplification of understanding -- ch. 8. Cosmology: the globalization of reality -- ch. 9. Spacetime: the arena of action -- ch. 10. Arithmetic: the limits of reason -- Epilogue: the future of understanding.

Publisher's description: Galileo's Finger takes the reader on an extraordinary journey that embraces the ten central ideas of current science. "By a great idea," writes Peter Atkins, "I mean a simple concept of great reach, an acorn of an idea that ramifies into a great oak tree of application, a spider of an idea that can spin a great web and draw in a feast of explanation and elucidation." With wit, charm, and patience, Atkins leads the reader to an understanding of the essence of the whole of science, from evolution and the emergence of complexity, to entropy, the spring of all change in the universe; from energy, the universalization of accountancy, to symmetry, the quantification of beauty; and from cosmology, the globalization of reality, to spacetime, the arena of all action.