Emergence in human groups:

Chemicals assemble into cells.

Cells assemble into organs.

Organs into people and people into families and other groups.

Who tells the chemicals how to organize?

I think this is a really apt metaphor. (Also loving reading your words again and so glad you’re blogging this.) You’re right; there is no single “boss” signal really telling the body to assemble. No one thing snaps its fingers and it’s done. The formation of a system is the result of slow and consistent communication between a bunch of little signal…