When I first read this passage, I was quite confused as to what direction the author was leading it in. One moment, he was talking about the organization of a colony of ants. Then, he was talking about the origins of Manchester. After, he discussed Turing's theories. I realized later that the connecting theme was that of "complexity." The author uses complexity as a way to illustrate our innate habit of trying to understand systems that somehow come together. We sometimes have to figure out a line of order. Someone gave an order, and others followed in order to create organization. Our brains are not wired to immediately understand the process of collective collaboration.
This connects to the reading from last class, in which the author argues for an education system that depends on the work of the entire class in order to produce a superior result. If we were to switch to that style of education, we would be able to adjust and understand this system more. This would be useful, as we would be able to understand a process that seems to originate naturally in our world.
I think the fact that you were confused about the connections within the plethora of examples is really interesting in that it supports John Letham's ideas. By themselves, the examples are standalone original ideas and events that don't make sense together without support. After all, what does the city of Manchester have in common with a machine built off of demons? Your recognition of the overarching theme of complexity demonstrates that Johnson provides the support needed to show why these two ideas are connected. Building these connections fits Letham's idea of originality and what constitutes good appropriation.
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