A through-line for how the world builds up
We live in a universe that builds upward. Small, simple things combine into larger, more stable structures: particles into atoms, atoms into molecules, molecules into cells, cells into organisms, organisms into cultures and technologies. At each step, new patterns appear that cannot be fully captured in the language of the level below.
Hierarchy: The Fundamental Architecture of Complexity is an attempt to tell that story in one continuous arc. It argues that hierarchy (layers of structure and representation) is the common thread in physics, biology, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, and everyday human experience.
The book is written for readers who enjoy thinking carefully about how the world hangs together, and who are comfortable moving between concrete examples and abstract ideas without being talked down to.
What the book explores
- Matter and structure – How physical laws and constraints cause simple building blocks to aggregate into stable structures: from particles and atoms to stars and planets.
- Life as layered organization – How chemistry organizes into cells, tissues, organs, and organisms, and why each level has its own patterns, and regularities.
- Brains and hierarchical computation – How the neocortex may implement a hierarchy of representations, from sensory edges and surfaces up through objects, concepts, and plans.
- Conscious experience and resonance – How patterns of activity in the brain can stabilize into coherent perceptions, memories, and a sense of self.
- Language, culture, and collective intelligence – How symbolic systems let us compress, transmit, and rearrange patterns across minds, giving rise to science, law, and technology.
- Artificial intelligence and emergent structure – How large neural networks learn layered representations, and what this may reveal about the way natural minds work.
Who this is for
This book is for readers who:
- Enjoy authors like Daniel Dennett, Sean Carroll, and Douglas Hofstadter.
- Are comfortable with a bit of technical detail, but do not want a textbook.
- Are curious about how physics, biology, neuroscience, and AI fit together.
If you would like to offer feedback, please reach out directly to the author at alyx.dubrow@gmail.com.