Emergence

up:: Systems Thinking, S - Making Notes Course

Complexity arising from Simplicity.

Emergence happens when individual pieces come together and form something greater than the sum of their parts.

This is a foundational effect of a linked note taking system. It also happens in great teams. Ideas bounce off one another and new stuff is happening. Here is an example of Steve Jobs describing the process.

Examples of Emergence

• How can tiny ants → a war-raging, cattle-herding, hill-building colony.
• Alive things emerge from not-alive things: Atoms → Molecules → Proteins → Organelles → Cell
• Snow flakes form a blizzard.
• Individuals form society.

How many lines are here? ––––––––––––––––––––––– ––––––––––––––––––––––– Three. Two black and one white. 1 + 1 = 3.