Instability Quotes (3 quotes)
The living being is stable. It must be so in order not to be destroyed, dissolved, or disintegrated by the colossal forces, often adverse, which surround it. By apparent contradiction it maintains its stability only if it is excitable and capable of modifying itself according to external stimuli and adjusting its response to the stimulation. In a sense it is stable because it is modifiablethe slight instability is the necessary condition for the true stability of the organism.
The phenomenon of emergence takes place at critical points of instability that arise from fluctuations in the environment, amplified by feedback loops. Emergence results in the creation of novelty, and this novelty is often qualitatively different from the phenomenon out of which it emerged.
This spontaneous emergence of order at critical points of instability, which is often referred to simply as emergence, is one of the hallmarks of life. It has been recognized as the dynamic origin of development, learning, and evolution. In other words, creativitythe generation of new formsis a key property of all living systems.