Living systems grow from simple seeds

Last updated Nov 14, 2022

• On systems
• Source article

::source_link: https://subconscious.substack.com/p/simple-seeds ::people: Gordon Brander

• Start simple
• All life comes from life
• It is always better to grow rather than build cultivate, don’t create
• this idea aligns with a grassroots approach, in which things grow out.

A wiki has two simple mechanisms: Everyone can write on every page. You can link other pages, whether or not they exist. That’s it. Yet this simple alphabet evolved complex living systems, from personal notes, to collaborative fan-sites, to Wikipedia.

• Some of the most complex systems emerge from simple binaries. The richness of contrast creates gradients. All the world comes from binary.

A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple system. ( Gall’s Law)

Living systems can grow from simple seeds, like a wiki’s two simple mechanisms of writing and linking. The most complex systems come from simple binaries, like the contrast that creates gradients. Gall’s Law states that complex systems which work are invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. Therefore, when creating a complex system, it is often best to start with a simple and working system.