Peter, what you have quoted above—-simple things generating a complex 
outcome that could not be understood by studying the part-—is called Chaos 
Theory (the Science of Complexity, loosely speaking): 

“Science generally uses a system called reductionism to investigate our 
world. This means breaking down anything being examined into the parts 
that make it up. Reductionism proposes that if we understand the parts, we 
will understand how the whole system works. If you take a mechanical clock 
to pieces, you can see what each part does you can find out how it works. 
Some things, however, can't be investigated in this way. There is much to 
be learned by dissecting a rat, for example, but in dissecting it, we kill 
it and cannot learn what gives it life.”

http://complexity.orconhosting.net.nz/index.html 

Hawkins talks about how the next frontier in science will be the Science 
of Complexity, which defies the linear, Euclidean analysis of things we 
examine.  For instance, CCD may not be understood by simply focusing on 
isolated issues affecting bees, such as nosema, pesticide, dwindling 
forage areas, doping, or pimping across the country, alone.  One must look 
at the whole picture.  A butterfly flapping in Brazil (Varroa vector), for 
instance, can create a tornado in Texas (CCD) through multiplication of 
its force in nonlinear interactions within a living  environment whose 
result no one can predict.

Yoon  

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