Self-Organizing Systems / Decker, Ethan H.

One of the questions guiding subsets of physics, chemistry and biology research is Where does order come from? Following the general laws of thermodynamics it would seem that dynamic processes would find the path of least energy until the system found a low spot, a dead calm, and remained at equilibrium there until some obvious perturbation moved it from its complacency. For example, a pot of steaming sugar water will give off matter (water vapor) and energy (heat) until it reaches equilibrium with its environment. Cooling, evaporation and crystallization, governed by simple physical and chemical laws, will drive the system to a point of least energy, and we should find rock candy in the bottom of a dry pot.

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