Pattern languages, wikis, zettelkasten, smart notes, evergreen notes all point to the same zeitgeist of emergence. Could these be accessible entry points for more people to embrace emergence as a general way of life? This is taken from an article by Ward Cunningham called "Wiki as a Pattern Language", in which he compares wikis with Christopher Alexander's A Pattern Language. > A. Both are open-ended sets of information, consisting of unitary subsets (pages or patterns) connected by hyperlinks. Each set of information is able to expand, while remaining within a linked network. > B. Both are topical essays with a characteristic structure: overview (with links), definition, discussion, evidence, conclusion, further links. This limited structure creates the capacity for extensibility and interoperability – the capacity of new pages to function smoothly with older ones, with the capacity for open-ended growth. > C. Both are structured to be easily creatable, shareable and editable by many people. This capacity facilitates the creation of user communities, who are crucial to the development of a large and useful body of shareable pages or patterns. >D. Both are (in principle) evolutionary, falsifiable and refinable. As structured essays, both make assertions about characteristics of the world they describe – assertions that can be falsified. Once falsified, they can be modified to correct discrepancies, and to refine accuracy. This evolutionary capacity translates into greater accuracy and usefulness over time. >E. Both aim to create useful ontological models of a portion of the world, as a more formalized subset of language. These are models of design specifically for pattern languages, and models of knowledge more generally for wikis.