Importance: 10%
The Big Idea
The idea is that atoms are not the basic components of the universe but rather atoms (and everything else) are formed by the forces and order at work in the whole of the universe.
Posited by: Christopher Alexander (Architect, Author)
Source: The Unfolding Whole
After thinking this one over and talking with others that are deeper into the science of it all. It seems like this is a kind of outdated and tenuous illustration Alexander is using to try and get at a deeper point that being obsessed only with the parts of a system sometimes make its impossible to see how things work as a whole. Therefore, I agree with the concept but not this particular example he tries to use for it.