this post was submitted on 20 May 2025
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That's not really what complexity is. Complexity has nothing to do with purpose, it's just about how many "moving parts" a system has. Those elaborate do-nothing machines that don't have any real "purpose" are nonetheless complex.
A random distribution of matter, subject to physical laws, is unquestionably a complex interconnected system. The laws of physics generate planets, stars, nebulae, blank holes, galaxies, superclusters, etc.
And I'll tell you a secret: every single "purposeful" pattern you've ever encountered was generated by that distribution of physically reactive matter. The complex interconnected universe, by definition, includes every other system, including the ones that you normally think of when you think of as "complex".