The Heart of Complexity

    Emergence is a theory that has very old roots, but is now being more carefully considered. The reasons why it is being reconsidered as a serious subtext to classical physics may have a lot to do with technical progress. Computer systems, and other man-made systems are rapidly gaining complexity.
    Complexity and emergence are considered to be highly related, especially in regards to complex adaptive systems. Given the fact that man-kind has proven to be easily fooled by low-level AI systems, it will be increasingly important to prove the validity of AI research by proving the system to be both adaptable and complex. Neural networks, which are currently the gold standard of AI research, have proven to be both.
     If you were to ask what powers the emergent properties of deep learning , the answer would undoubtedly be neural networks. These neural networks pattern data in way that could be roughly considered to be a form of learning. Pattern recognition is the technical term that is used, because both cognitive research and computing research built around interactions with humans have revealed that humans learn in much more complex ways. Some cognitive researchers suggest that there are many different modes of learning that humans utilize which are individually known as learning styles.
     In physics there is another way that emergence and complexity have served our understanding. Physical particles drive interactions in nature, but there are many natural phenomenon which outstrip the ability of individual particles. Mathematically, however, these phenomenon can be quantized into particle-like "chunks" of energy or information called quasiparticles. These quasiparticles are best understood as a complex emergent property of matter and energy that underlay sound, heat, electrical conduction, and many other important physical interactions.
     Regardless of its application, emergence is the heart of complexity. It is the prize that many scientific and engineering challenges of today are seeking. And it only seems natural that after over a hundred years of reductionist philosophy in science that revelations would come forth that many aspects of nature are more than a sum of their parts.

Quasiparticles and Emergence

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