ALGEBRA AND COMBINATORICS SEMINAR Tuesday 8 April 2008, 3pm in Room 67-641 Mile Gu, Physics, UQ Emergent Phenomena in Nature Abstract The direct simulation of macroscopic systems from fundamental principles is computationally infeasible, and yet the existence of macroscopic laws such as Newtonian mechanics suggests that macroscopic order emerges at some statistical limit. Reductionism contends that any such order can be understood in terms of the system's microscopic constituents. We construct a simple physical system, in terms of an Ising lattice, that exhibits macroscopic properties whose values at ground state cannot be logically derived from fundamental principles. This provides compelling evidence of emergent behavior, and indicates that even if a `theory of everything' were to be discovered, the understanding of macroscopic order will still require extra scientific insight. All welcome. ----------------------------------------------------------- http://www.maths.uq.edu.au/cdmc/Seminars.html