Reply to comment

I've enjoyed how open the class has been, especially in terms of balancing our approaches to the topic of emergence. There is a strong philosophical component that facilitates discussion while also stimulating hands-on exploration through NetLogo. Being of a more hands-on/application type, I felt that I was able to accommodate one style of learning while strengthening another. Overall, this approach kept the class varied and interesting.

When I joined the course at the beginning of the semester, I had very limited understanding of what emergence was. My only exposure to the field was having read Duncan Watts Six Degrees for another class, which stimulated my interest in the subject and opened my eyes to the interconnectivity of small world networks. Taking this idea a few steps forward, the Emergence course helped unveil many other related topics that had previously remained shrouded in mystery for me, especially the notion of natural synchrony on which I decided to focus my final project.

One of the most useful parts of this course was the discussion surrounding our book presentations. Not only did the wide variety of topics lend itself to many interesting observations but it also has provided me with a jumping off point for relevant literature on the topic of emergence. I strongly believe that this field is not something that one can easily forget about after being exposed to it. Instead, I expect that certain aspects will stay with me long after I have graduated. In some ways, I feel as though the class has reconditioned me to be more observant of the world. Every now and again, I notice something so seemingly simple and unexpected that it startles me in that moment, almost as if to serve as a lingering reminder that emergence is everywhere.