I really couldn't figure out what on earth the article is talking about? Where is flocking patterns of bitds even in the scope of Newton's third law? The article reads like pseudo-science.
> But many systems exist and persist far from equilibrium. Perhaps the most glaring example is life itself. We’re kept out of equilibrium by our metabolism, which converts matter into energy.
Our metabolisms convert matter into energy? Lmao I think not, our metabolisms are chemical processes, not nuclear. Making and breaking chemical bonds is NOT converting matter into energy. The author is nuts, I thought Quanta was better than this but I guess they're on my shitlist now.