In mathematical terms, Prigogine’s central point was that self-organization depends upon self-reinforcement: a tendency for small effects to become magnified when conditions are right, instead of dying away. It was precisely the same message that had been implicit in Jacob and Monod’s work on DNA. And suddenly, says Arthur, “I recognized it as what in engineering we would have called positive feedback.” Tiny molecular motions grow into convection cells. Mild tropical winds grow into a hurricane. Seeds and embryos grow into fully developed living creatures. Positive feedback seemed to be the
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