My favorite explanation of complexity is the pot of boiling water. When you put a pot of liquid water on the stove it is in a steady state. All of the collective molecules exist in liquid form, but as soon as you begin applying heat and pressure that state begins to change. At any point in time we can’t predict which molecules will make the transition. They exist at the edge of chaos. But provide enough heat and pressure and over time they will eventually turn into a gas. What happens then? Does the steam rise and eventually fall as water again? But, where and how? The only thing I do know is that it will never return to the exact same place it began.
Boiling Water
Boiling Water
Boiling Water
My favorite explanation of complexity is the pot of boiling water. When you put a pot of liquid water on the stove it is in a steady state. All of the collective molecules exist in liquid form, but as soon as you begin applying heat and pressure that state begins to change. At any point in time we can’t predict which molecules will make the transition. They exist at the edge of chaos. But provide enough heat and pressure and over time they will eventually turn into a gas. What happens then? Does the steam rise and eventually fall as water again? But, where and how? The only thing I do know is that it will never return to the exact same place it began.