This is an extended version of my Nobel Lecture, delivered on December 8, 2021. I will recall the genesis of the concept of multiple equilibria in natural sciences. I will then describe my contribution to the development of this concept in the framework of statistical mechanics. Finally, I will briefly mention the cornucopia of applications of these ideas both in physics and in other disciplines.

中文翻译：

---

诺贝尔奖演讲：多重均衡*

这是我于 2021 年 12 月 8 日发表的诺贝尔演讲的扩展版本。我将回顾自然科学中多重平衡概念的起源。然后我将描述我在统计力学框架内对这一概念的发展所做的贡献。最后，我将简要提及这些思想在物理学和其他学科中的应用。