Claim CF002:
Complexity does not arise from simplicity.
Response:
- Complexity arises from simplicity all the time. The Mandelbrot set is
an example (Dewey 1996). Real-life examples include the following: A
pan of water with heat applied uniformly to its bottom will develop
convection currents that are more complex than the still water; complex
hurricanes arise from similar principles; complex planetary ring
systems arise from simple laws of gravitation; complex ant nests arise
from simple behaviors; and complex organisms arise from simpler seeds
and embryos.
- Complexity should be expected from evolution. In computer
simulations, complex organisms were more robust than simple ones
(Lenski et al. 1999), and natural selection forced complexity to
increase (Adami et al. 2000). Theoretically, complexity is expected
because complexity-generating processes dissipate the entropy from
solar energy influxes, in accordance with the second law of
thermodynamics (Wicken 1979). Ilya Prigogine won the Nobel Prize "for
his contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics, particularly the
theory of dissipative structures" (Nobel Foundation 1977). According
to Prigogine, "it is shown that non-equilibrium may become a source of
order and that irreversible processes may lead to a new type of dynamic
states of matter called 'dissipative structures' " (Prigogine 1977,
22).
References:
- Adami, C., C. Ofria and T. C. Collier, 2000. Evolution of biological
complexity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA
97(9):
4463-4468. http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/97/9/4463
- Dewey, David, 1996. Introduction to the Mandelbrot set.
http://www.ddewey.net/mandelbrot/
- Lenski, R. E., C. Ofria, T. C. Collier and C. Adami, 1999. Genome
complexity, robustness and genetic interactions in digital organisms.
Nature 400: 661-664.
- Nobel Foundation 1977. The Nobel Prize in chemistry 1977.
http://nobelprize.org/chemistry/laureates/1977
- Prigogine, Ilya, 1977. Time, structure, and fluctuations,
http://www.nobel.se/chemistry/laureates/1977/prigogine-lecture.pdf
- Wicken, Jeffrey S., 1979. The generation of complexity in evolution: A
thermodynamic and information-theoretical discussion. Journal of
Theoretical Biology 77: 349-365.
created 2003-5-7, modified 2005-3-29