[This is a transcript with links to references.]
This new idea could explain complexity
Image: Rosas et al, arXiv:2402.09090
Architects don’t need to know quantum physics. This doesn’t seem like a particular deep insight but I am hoping to convince you that it’s very profound, indeed one of the biggest mysteries of science. And a recent paper made a pretty good step to solve this mystery. Let’s have a look.
For all we currently know, everything in the universe is made from 25 elementary particles, held together by 4 forces. This sounds, let’s be honest, somewhat boring. But out of these 25 building blocks, the universe has created a bewildering variety of structure. Galaxies, bacteria, planets, hurricanes, humans, societies, cat memes. Far from boring!
The universe creates complexity out of simplicity by a process we call emergence. Loosely speaking, emergence means that small objects collect to larger ones and the large ones follow new natural laws on their own right. Strictly speaking, we don’t know what it means. And that’s the problem.
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