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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Emergent Phenomena in Science and Everyday Life by University of California, Irvine

4.3
stars
143 ratings

About the Course

Before the advent of quantum mechanics in the early 20th century, most scientists believed that it should be possible to predict the behavior of any object in the universe simply by understanding the behavior of its constituent parts. For instance, if one could write down the equations of motion for every atom in a system, it should be possible to solve those equations (with the aid of a sufficiently large computing device) and make accurate predictions about that system’s future. However, there are some systems that defy this notion. Consider a living cell, which consists mostly of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen along with other trace elements. We can study these components individually without ever imagining how combining them in just the right way can lead to something as complex and wonderful as a living organism! Thus, we can consider life to be an emergent property of what is essentially an accumulation of constituent parts that are somehow organized in a very precise way. This course lets you explore the concept of emergence using examples from materials science, mathematics, biology, physics, and neuroscience to illustrate how ordinary components when brought together can collectively yield unexpected, surprising behaviors. Note: The fractal image (Sierpinkski Triangle) depicted on the course home page was generated by a software application called XaoS 3.4, which is distributed by the Free Software Foundation under a GNU General Public License. Upon completing this course, you will be able to: 1. Explain the difference in assumptions between an emergent versus reductive approach to science. 2. Explain why the reductivist approach is understood by many to be inadequate as a means of describing and predicting complex systems. 3. Describe how the length scale used to examine a phenomenon can contribute to how you analyze and understand it. 4. Explain why the search for general principles that explain emergent phenomena make them an active locus of scientific investigation. 5. Discuss examples of emergent phenomena and explain why they are classified as emergent....

Top reviews

MS

Dec 16, 2020

This course has enriched my understanding in science. It has also encouraged me to do research in the field of Emergent Phenomena in future. Thanks to respected professors who made this possible.

RV

May 7, 2017

i enjoyed all the different modules. I recommend they add more explanation to the chaos game assignment.

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26 - 46 of 46 Reviews for Emergent Phenomena in Science and Everyday Life

By Nick

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Nov 12, 2021

outstanding

By Bryan F

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May 29, 2021

excellent

By Shaurya S

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Aug 6, 2017

Awesome

By Mario A

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Jan 3, 2017

All the topics are quite interesting and surprising (and I mean every one of them), but all are treated like popular science with little insight. I had to read elsewhere to fully understand some topics such as reaction-difussion systems. All in all, I wish there was a version of this course for those of us who have no fear of mathematics.

By Karthik S

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Dec 1, 2020

Good introduction to different facets of emergent phenomena. Maybe a closure talk laying out where we can go from here would've been great as well - for those who are interested in exploring further

By AmirPouyan K

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Nov 16, 2017

Could have been more mathematical. And could have included a section on space-time, since it's been a while that the notion of emergent space-time has entered the theoretical discussions.

By Victor S

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May 22, 2019

Good sampler course for those curious about emergent patterns across a variety of fields. Casual and fun, although the focus on peer graded assessments somewhat detract from it.

By CHI L L

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Feb 6, 2019

A very good course in introducing advanced concepts in a simple way and have performed the spirit of multidisciplinary research very well.

By Joy S

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Feb 21, 2018

Has new things I never thought about before. Really interesting.

By David G

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Mar 26, 2017

I've learned a lot about emergent phenomena on this course.

By Бенуа М

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Nov 2, 2019

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By Omar G A

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Aug 31, 2020

Es un curso interesante pero elemental

By Brent V M

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Sep 13, 2018

I'm currently on the second module.

The first module, taught by Michael Dennin was great and got me really excited about this course.

The second module, taught by Donald Saari, is really bad. He takes a subject I find very interesting (Chaos), and makes it boring, prattling on in a very disorganized manner while mostly staring at his toes.

I hoping that subsequent modules are more like Michael Dennin's, which was very well done.

By Michael H

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Mar 22, 2016

This course could have delved in more depth in the respective subject. What was presented was good but I felt that more could have been presented.

By Iain J

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Apr 25, 2021

Some interesting content. Overall the program coulf have been more coherent. Some of the lecturers were poor.

By Aiswarya

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May 7, 2017

nice course

By Marc L

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Jul 25, 2017

Unsatisfying hodgepodge of examples without any formalism of a very exciting modern subject. Often too superficial and short (3h over 6 week?) for university level. Many lecturer's interview betray their misunderstanding of the course's intended central themes. The student is left wondering in each module what really makes these phenomena emergent beyond being macroscopic properties of complex systems of many agents. The module on consciousness barely attempts a satisfying definition, rather listing a bunch of functions associated with consciousness, and ends frustratingly with a perfect case study without exploring so many of the relevant questions. I'll expand a bit more on that last point: the lecturer says a person with separated brain hemispheres may have two answers to a question: "the left brain thinks yes, the right brain thinks no", and ends there. But what does the person actually think? Do they have 2 personalities, 2 consciousnesses? Or do they maintain a single consciousness, a single awareness? So many questions are raised, but again, the actual interesting topic of what consciousness is and how it may emerge from the brain is not really addressed.

In conclusion, this course gives the impression that emergence is just a vague idea that applies to many domains, but has not really been developed or researched yet. Disappointing.

By Miguel M G

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Nov 24, 2018

The course is too basic and does not provide much insights. It is also a pity that there is not a forum to discuss with the other students. Overall the course seems managed in a very lazy manner as compared to other coursera courses.

By Daniel H M

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May 28, 2019

It is a basic course, I was expecting to be more immersed in the mathematical details. There are a few recommendations, however, it was not what I was looking for.

By jadoul m

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Nov 2, 2018

Reductionism versus emergence: merely a short-sighted and fashionable point of view. Nothing to learn here and no way to check that you learned anything.

By Jean-Philippe C

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Jan 8, 2019

too simple