Emergence - a "Metasystem Transition" Perspective

How many snowflakes does it take to break a branch? Only one, when all the others are already there.

“Consider a system S of any kind. Suppose that there is a way to make some number of copies from it, possibly with variations. Suppose that these systems are united into a new system S' which has the systems of the S type as its subsystems, and includes also an additional mechanism which controls the behavior and production of the S-subsystems. Then we call S' a metasystem with respect to S, and the creation of S' a metasystem transition... The major steps in evolution, both biological, and cultural, are nothing else but metasystem transitions of a large scale.” The Metasystem Transition, by V. Turchin and C. Joslyn