Ni-ka Ford

Dec 19, 2023 | scientificamerican.com | Clara Moskowitz |Jen Christiansen |Ni-ka Ford

Many aspects of our world, from the body mass of creatures in the animal kingdom to the population of cities across the globe, follow an intriguing mathematical pattern. Known as Zipf's law, the rule says that when something's size is doubled, that thing becomes about half as common. Researchers wondered whether the law extended to the human body. Ecologist Ian A. Hatton of McGill University, independent researcher Jeffery A.