Re: What is emergence?

[Steve Shervais]

Rayman,
Let me take my whack at that. This may sound similar to some definitions
which have already been presented, but I like this one better. It is
based on a paper by George Lendaris [my dissertation advisor at Portland
State Systems Science], published in IEEE SMC some years ago [I
think...I just moved and can't find the paper].  According to that, a
system is:

When looked at in a close-up view (level A) it appears as a collection
of interacting components, some or all of which may themselves be
systems.  When looked at as a whole (level B) it presents behaviors
which are not inherent in any single component but are an emergent
created by the interaction of the components.

Based on that definition, it would appear that you can call the spatial
pattern which results from the interaction of many components --
developers, geography, hydrography -- as an emergent of the 'land
development system.'  In fact, I would bet it is the emergent properties
that make that particular system worth examining.

Steve Shervais
Assistant Professor, MIS
Eastern Washington University


Rayman Mohamed wrote:
> 
> My question would be whether the following will qualify as
> emergence.  Consider developers looking for sites on which to build


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