Emergence: attraction causes change

The line of evolution in our universe is towards more elegant complexity. It seems to emerge almost by itself — why? Attraction. The force of attraction pulls things together which causes more elegant complexity to emerge.

On a cosmic scale, stars form from the attraction of particles which causes more complex particles to emerge. More complex particles form planets — a line towards emergent elegant complexity.

On the scale of life, the attraction of different molecules causes living cell-based life to emerge. Sexual selection based on attraction has driven evolution — towards emergent elegant complexity.

On the scale of humans, attractions of human beings cause society and more intricate relationships and ideas to form — emergent elegant complexity.

Emergence is an interesting word. It is magic-like. The process through which something novel appears, something that wasn’t there before. At an intuitive level, this concept might be straightforward, but scientifically, it poses intriguing questions. How do elements suddenly produce a whole with attributes that none of its parts possessed? For instance, a cell respires, yet the molecules constituting it do not. How does such a transformation occur?

Emergence doesn’t just arise from any combination; it requires a specific kind of relationship. Synergy is borne from relationships that make sense, and these relationships result from attractive forces, whether that’s gravity pulling together planets, electromagnetism linking subatomic particles, or human bonds formed out of love or shared aspirations. Renowned thinker Buckminster Fuller aptly described love as “metaphysical gravity”, implying the power of attraction extends beyond just physical entities.

This implies an interesting way to live life: find attraction and pursue it — it will cause more elegant complexity to emerge. This requires truthfulness to what you are attracted to; whether it be ideas, people, or cultures. It also implies avoiding that which does not attract you — it will not cause the emergence of that which we need to evolve. Genuine attraction is the fundamental force of the line of evolution.

We cannot know what will emerge before it does —it is almost like magic. All we can do is live truthfully to what we are attracted to.

Thanks for reading.

Inspired by: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh7qvXfGQho