  Network glasses are the physical prototype for many self-organized systems,
ranging from proteins to computer science. Conventional theories of gases,
liquids, and crystals do not account for the strongly material-selective
character of the glass-forming tendency, the phase diagrams of glasses, or
their optimizable properties. A new topological theory, only 25 years old, has
succeeded where conventional theories have failed. It shows that (probably all
slowly quenched) glasses, including network glasses, are the result of the
combined effects of a few simple mechanisms. These glass-forming mechanisms are
topological in nature, and have already been identified for several important
glasses, including chalcogenide alloys, silicates (window glass, computer
chips), and proteins.
