Emergence: The Hidden Power of Collective Behavior

Since completing my Ph.D., I have rarely written articles. As I grow older, my thoughts have deepened, and I’ve begun exploring the fundamental truths of the world, especially those breathtaking yet difficult-to-explain phenomena that are often taken for granted. I remember during my Ph.D. studies (around 2010), I first encountered the then-popular concepts of neural networks and bio-inspired algorithms. I was fascinated by the idea of applying nature’s logic and wisdom to solve complex problems, including those classified as NP-hard. After all, Earth has accumulated an immense amount of natural wisdom through 4.5 billion years of evolution. Nature, therefore, is the ultimate problem solver, albeit not in the exact, mathematical way. Often, it finds the best possible solution (until someone finds a better one). This idea is similar to the concept of ‘Taiji’ from the Chinese classic, ‘the I Ching’ — a topic I might dive into more deeply another time.

“Emergence” is a captivating concept that has attracted the interest of scientists and philosophers alike. It refers to the process through which larger entities, patterns, and structures arise from the interactions among smaller, simpler entities that do not themselves exhibit such properties. When individual components meet and interact, they weave together into a complex tapestry, giving rise to a phenomenon greater than the sum of its parts. This is the commonly accepted definition of emergence, and further scientific explanations often add details, but generally, they share two key characteristics:

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