The trick is to tune the crystal, by modifying the details of pattern, so that as much of the emitted energy as possible is at the frequency most efficiently captured by indium gallium arsenide.

ECONOMIST: Solar power

Analysis of that pattern can tell you the details of how a crystal's atoms are arranged.

ECONOMIST: The 2011 Nobel prizes

Changing a synapse affects the brain's circuitry, and it is the pattern of this circuitry that stores memories though the details are obscure.

ECONOMIST: Prion proteins

As the table below details, this was a pretty consistent pattern of trade-off during the much of this period: When the market went down, you would have been better off had you rebalanced each year.

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Their etched pattern takes its design from the unique architectural details of the specific buildings in front of which they are placed.

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Sure, they may remember a few items, but if you are discussing a process or a pattern, the details about the value or necessity of what you wrote may be forgotten over time.

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"Instead of the goopy Baroque or Venetian-style chandeliers with 20 colors, we're now seeing one color with maybe another color added on the details, " said Mr. Fuchs, who has written and illustrated "The Pattern Book of Lighting, " a guidebook to lighting that's out this month.

WSJ: Reinventing Splendor