September 10, 2026
SIGPSY Symposium Planning & More is Different Paper Discussion
Participants: _vgr, boredgargoyle, drevius.
The SIGPSY group convened to accomplish two goals: previewing the structure of an upcoming symposium special session and discussing P.W. Anderson's foundational 1972 paper 'More is Different.' The meeting began with a brief delay as one participant joined late, after which the group prioritized reading Anderson's paper, which addresses how organizational hierarchies in physical systems generate emergent laws that cannot be explained by lower-level physics alone. This concept of emergence and hierarchical complexity appears central to understanding psychohistorical phenomena. After the reading portion, the group planned to conduct a round of comments before transitioning to detailed planning of the symposium special session.
- The group planned to read P.W. Anderson's 'More is Different' paper, which explores how different levels of organization in physical systems follow distinct laws that cannot be reduced to lower levels.
- The meeting adopted a structured approach: 15-20 minutes of paper reading followed by quick comments, then transition to symposium planning discussions.
- Anderson's work on hierarchies of laws from physics to higher-order systems appears directly relevant to psychohistory methodology and understanding complexity.