The Fascinating Relationship Between Metabolism and the Weight of an Animal

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Metabolism is the amount of energy needed to keep an animal alive.
There is a simple relationship between metabolic rate and an animal's size.
Doubling an animal's size does not require double the amount of food, but rather a 75% increase.
There is an extraordinary economy of scale with increasing size, resulting in greater efficiency.

Have you ever thought about why the average human lifespan is 80 years? Or why smaller animals, like mice, live for much shorter periods compared to large animals like blue whales?

To help answer these questions, we're joined by Geoffrey West, Shannan Distinguished Professor and Former President of the Santa Fe Institute. Geoffrey will introduce us to the concept of scaling in complex systems, and how it helps explain not just lifespan, but a whole range of physiological characteristics in mammals.

In Parts 2 and 3, he will explain what creates these laws, and how they apply not just to mammals, but to companies and cities as well.

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