Emergent Behavior

Of some things it is said that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Emergent behavior is a phenomena of complex systems. Systems exhibit behaviors that are not expected by examining their parts. We call this emergent behavior. Emergent behavior is fascinating to consider but painful to eliminate if it is not desirable.


I'm sorry Dave… but I can't let you do that…
Consider HAL in "2001 A Space Odyssey".


The computer was responsible for life support and used it to ensure the completion of its mission. Anytime a system is the least bit unpredictable, its behavior is attributed to "emergent behavior." Sometimes the results are pleasantly surprising.

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