FROM “EMERGENCE: THE CONNECTED LIVE OF ANTS, BRAINS, CITIES, AND SOFTWARE” BY STEVEN JOHNSON. 2001 Chapter Number 2 – Street Level
Guy Debord (1956) Theory of the Dérive
Steven Johnson explained the idea of a city as a system that celebrates the power of a city in its locality and in the everyday local interactions that keep it alive and evolving. He talks about the insignificant contribution of a small unit derived by interaction at the local level that makes a significant impact on the entire system. In this way the evolution of the ant colonies is similar to the process in which cells organize themselves from organs to organisms. In these scenarios there is no bird’s eye view or a pre conceived master plan of the whole system but an ever evolving plan that thrives on the exchange of information via local communication.
