Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!apple!voder!pyramid!prls!philabs!linus!mbunix!bwk From: bwk@mbunix.mitre.org (Barry W. Kort) Newsgroups: comp.ai Subject: The Emergent Properties of Whole Systems Summary: Here we go 'round the Mulberry bush... Keywords: Feedback Loops, Cybernetics, Purposive Systems Message-ID: <46194@linus.UUCP> Date: 10 Mar 89 08:13:50 GMT References: <9639@megaron.arizona.edu> Sender: news@linus.UUCP Reply-To: bwk@mbunix.mitre.org (Barry Kort) Organization: Garden Golems, Inc., Norbert, WI Lines: 13 In article <9639@megaron.arizona.edu> mike@arizona.edu (Mike Coffin) writes: > Am I alone in this sense that the whole is generally greater than the > sum of its parts? No, Mike, you are not alone. I, too, am of the opinion that assembled systems can exhibit emergent properties not found among the pieceparts. I think that systems with feedback loops are among the most interesting systems with such emergent properties, starting with the Thermostat and Furnace, and ending with purposive systems and cybernetic systems. --Barry Kort