Back
2.4 Rules vs. Emergence
Discussion
-
-
The emergent pattern as it is the most observable and basically requires less investigation. Going back to the water example, it is easier to determine the fact that water is wet (emergent property determined by touching water) than determining the chemical structure of water (fundamental property determined by chemical tests for hydrogen, and oxygen, vaporization, or spectroscopy). Only once we determine the initial state (water is made of particles), only then we can determine the rules (ie. how the molecules interact). Again, going back to the car example, it is far easier to see the propagation of the wave than to determine the structure, engine and system of a car.
-
This actually gets into something we discuss frequently in the Walker lab: the concept of “macrostates”, which are emergent properties we use as a proxy for much more complex microstates. The classic example is temperature, which we use as an indirect measurement of the kinetic velocity of all the molecules in a given area/substance- wetness, as you described it, would be another. The tough part is figuring out what represents a good macrostate for a given system, and where you draw the line between the macrostate and the microstate.
-
You must be logged in to reply to this discussion.