Emergence

In nature

Living, biological systems

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  A termite "cathedral" mound produced by a termite colony.
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  Birds flocking emerges from simple rules: keep distance, stay aligned and avoid predators.
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  Conus textile exhibits an emergent cellular automaton pattern on its shell.
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  A plaster cast of an ant nest shows the advanced structure emerged from ant behavior.
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  For most of the times, the slime mold exists as thousands of single-celled organisms, but under certain conditions they group together forming a single entity.

Non-living, physical systems

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  Ripple patterns in a sand dune created by wind or water.
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  Small atmospheric disturbances emerging into a hurricane.

In culture and engineering

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  Emergence appears frequently in cities where no planning predetermines the layout of the city. Bangkok pictured.
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  Social self-organization in Central Asian trade routes.
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  A Möbius strip demonstrates emergence in mathematics.
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  Visualization of links between pages on a wiki.
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  The stock market has its own "invisible hand" emerging from purely self-interested actions. NYSE pictured.