Emergence

"Emergence" is the most recent property of Quantum Physics that has come to modern study. We've touched on it before (here) in its early maturation. It has numerous definitions. We will pursue number 2.

1) Emergent is an adjective that describes something that is emerging, or suddenly coming into existence.

2) In philosophy, systems theory, science, and art, emergence occurs when an entity is observed to have properties its parts do not have on their own. These properties or behaviors emerge only when the parts interact in a wider whole. For example, smooth forward motion emerges when a bicycle and its rider interoperate, but neither part can produce the behavior on their own.

Emergence plays a central role in theories of integrative levels and of complex systems. For instance, the phenomenon of life as studied in biology is an emergent property of chemistry, and psychological phenomena emerge from the neurobiological phenomena of living things.

In 1999, economist Jeffrey Goldstein provided a current definition of emergence in the journal Emergence. Goldstein initially defined emergence as: "the arising of novel and coherent structures, patterns and properties during the process of self-organization in complex systems".

In 2002 systems scientist Peter Corning described the qualities of Goldstein's definition in more detail: The common characteristics are: (1) radical novelty (features not previously observed in systems); (2) coherence or correlation (meaning integrated wholes that maintain themselves over some period of time); (3) A global or macro "level" (i.e. there is some property of "wholeness"); (4) it is the product of a dynamical process (it evolves); and (5) it is "ostensive" (it can be perceived).

Below we have attached videos that should be watched in the order that they are presented. And before watching the second you should be familiar with The Double Slit Experiment and Quantum Entanglement (below).

"Emergence" for beginners– How Stupid Things Become Smart Together (7:30)





The Emergent Universe (24:30)