nonlinear interactions almost always make the behavior of the aggregate more complicated than would be predicted by summing or averaging.

From the point of view of physics, it is a miracle that [seven million New Yorkers are fed each day] without any control mechanism other than sheer capitalism.

If we are to understand the interactions of a large number of agents, we must first be able to describe the capabilities of individual agents.

If there is to be a competition, there must be some basis for resolving it. It is also clear that the competition should be experienced based.

When a new building block is discovered, the result is usually a range of innovations.

The recycling of resource by the aggregate behavior of a diverse array of agents is much more than the sum of the individual actions.

Holland's and Kauffman's work, together with Dawkins' simulations of evolution and Varela's models of autopoietic systems, provide essential inspiration for the new discipline of artificial life, This approach, initiated by Chris Langton (1989, 1992), tries to develop technological systems (computer programs and autonomous robots) that exhibit lifelike properties, such as reproduction, sexuality, swarming, and co-evolution.