Power laws relate diverse quantities in a defined numerical way, such that a change in one is associated with a change in the other according to specific formulas or equations, often expressed by the exponent. Why do power laws, or scaling laws, work over large orders of magnitudes and among radically diverse fields in the physical, biological and social sciences? How do power laws relate to general systems theory?

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Geoffrey West is a British theoretical physicist, former president and distinguished professor of the Santa Fe Institute.

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