Spontaneous order is the coolest, most important phenomenon on earth

First, a quick explanation of what it is

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the emergence of various kinds of social orders from a combination of self-interested individuals who are not intentionally trying to create order through planning.

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See these fish? Biologists have now discovered that each fish in this school had absolutely no initial desire to "form" a school like that. It emerged randomly because the aggregate of individual decision making on the part of each of the hundreds or so fish in that school resulted in an end result which was no part of the intention. Each individual fish is in that group because the INDIVIDUAL FISHES each know that survival and benefit is maximized when sticking close to others.



See this flock of birds? None of the birds in this flock wanted that cool design to happen. Each of the thousand or so birds in this flock had absolutely no desire to produce that end result of an amazing looking design. Each of them individually knew that by flying close to other birds, survival and benefit is maximized.



But by far the coolest example of spontaneous order involves this unbelievably peculiar species. In the following picture, you see each individual member of this species going on its way, minding its own business, doing what it wants to do. And by doing just that, it created the most complex, the most efficient, and the most marvelous order the earth has ever seen. Believe it or not, the following order was not "designed" by anyone, nobody in this species specifically "wanted" this to happen, but it happened. It happened with nobody in this species ordering anyone around. No individual in this species commanded this. It is an accidental end result which was promoted by intentions that had no desire to bring about such a result. But each individual in this species interacting with, communicating with, and forming partnerships for mutual benefit gradually caused the emergence of this marvelous order. It is an accidental order, resulting from the unintended consequences of millions of individuals in this species doing what they want to do. It was not created, like a sculptor shaping a beautiful figure or an artist painting a forest scene, or an inventor tinkering with pipes and tubes. It emerged randomly, spontaneously, and without anyone actually specifically wanting it to.