the work is widely admired by biologists, anthropologists and architects among others, but less often read than cited. peter medawar explains this as being because it clearly pioneered the use of mathematics in biology, and helped to defeat mystical ideas of vitalism; but that the book is weakened by thompson's failure to understand the role of evolution and evolutionary history in shaping living structures. philip ball and michael ruse, on the other hand, suspect that while thompson argued for physical mechanisms, his rejection of natural selection bordered on vitalism.