Sean Carroll

From the start, I was listening for some description that corresponds to my naive idea that the term emergence refers to the way that lower level states and their dynamics interact on a meta level to generate macro relationships, even if those relationships or influences do not arise from the theory of the micro level. An example from recent experience is Albrecht's law.

From the start, I was listening for some description that corresponds to my naive idea that the term emergence refers to the way that lower level states and their dynamics interact on a meta level to generate macro relationships, even if those relationships or influences do not arise from the theory of the micro level. An example from recent experience is Albrecht's law.

Intelligent people, when assembled into an organization, will tend toward collective stupidity. Does your idea of type 3 or type 2 emergence encompass this kind of concept, or am I off track even thinking of this as emergence? You're not off track thinking of it as emergence.

Intelligent people, when assembled into an organization, will tend toward collective stupidity. Does your idea of type 3 or type 2 emergence encompass this kind of concept, or am I off track even thinking of this as emergence? You're not off track thinking of it as emergence.

I think that anything which starts with either individuals and goes to groups or starts with atoms and goes to individuals, these are examples of emergence. If you can describe the group in terms that don't require specific information about all the elements of the group, then you're doing emergence in some way or the other.

I think that anything which starts with either individuals and goes to groups or starts with atoms and goes to individuals, these are examples of emergence. If you can describe the group in terms that don't require specific information about all the elements of the group, then you're doing emergence in some way or the other.

I don't know whether Albrecht's Law is really true or it's just kind of a joke, right? I'm not exactly sure about that. But I don't think it's fancy emergence in the sense that I think it would be completely predictable on the basis of a competent theory of individuals, right? Like, why are the individuals tending towards stupidity?

I don't know whether Albrecht's Law is really true or it's just kind of a joke, right? I'm not exactly sure about that. But I don't think it's fancy emergence in the sense that I think it would be completely predictable on the basis of a competent theory of individuals, right? Like, why are the individuals tending towards stupidity?

Like, they react to other individuals in certain ways, and you kind of could have predicted it. Maybe you didn't. but you could have. Just like in principle, if I knew everything about atomic physics and chemistry, I could predict liquids and solids and superconductivity and all those things, right? In practice, it might be very hard, but it's absolutely implicit in the underlying theory.

Like, they react to other individuals in certain ways, and you kind of could have predicted it. Maybe you didn't. but you could have. Just like in principle, if I knew everything about atomic physics and chemistry, I could predict liquids and solids and superconductivity and all those things, right? In practice, it might be very hard, but it's absolutely implicit in the underlying theory.

So emergence is great because you don't need to know the underlying theory. I can learn about solids and liquids without knowing about atoms, but that doesn't make them incompatible somehow. And in principle— which is a very, very important phrase in this game. I could tell you about solids and liquids just based on the underlying stuff of which they are made.

So emergence is great because you don't need to know the underlying theory. I can learn about solids and liquids without knowing about atoms, but that doesn't make them incompatible somehow. And in principle— which is a very, very important phrase in this game. I could tell you about solids and liquids just based on the underlying stuff of which they are made.

Gray Monroe asks a priority question. What are your thoughts on the relevance of many worlds quantum mechanics to theories on the origin of life? Many worlds suggests rare branch of the wave function where functioning life, let's call it a Boltzmann cell, emerges by chance.

Gray Monroe asks a priority question. What are your thoughts on the relevance of many worlds quantum mechanics to theories on the origin of life? Many worlds suggests rare branch of the wave function where functioning life, let's call it a Boltzmann cell, emerges by chance.

These cells could seed their universe with the first replicating organism bypassing the challenge of explaining the origins of the first complex cell. Should we seriously consider the possibility that we live in such a world? You know, sure, you're welcome to consider that possibility.

These cells could seed their universe with the first replicating organism bypassing the challenge of explaining the origins of the first complex cell. Should we seriously consider the possibility that we live in such a world? You know, sure, you're welcome to consider that possibility.

I would, as usual, even though I think that many worlds is probably the best theory we have of quantum mechanics, I don't really care about the other worlds. Like, it's just not the reason why I care about it. The reason why I care about many worlds is because it gets the predictions for our world right.

I would, as usual, even though I think that many worlds is probably the best theory we have of quantum mechanics, I don't really care about the other worlds. Like, it's just not the reason why I care about it. The reason why I care about many worlds is because it gets the predictions for our world right.

And in our world, what you predict are various quantum probabilities in exactly the same way in many worlds as you do anywhere else, that the probability of something happening is proportional to the wave function squared. The thing about intelligent life is we know it exists because we are it by most definitions of intelligence. So it happened.

And in our world, what you predict are various quantum probabilities in exactly the same way in many worlds as you do anywhere else, that the probability of something happening is proportional to the wave function squared. The thing about intelligent life is we know it exists because we are it by most definitions of intelligence. So it happened.