But if it were just combining waves with a definite oscillation and adding them up, that would be a piece of cake for a computer to do.

If I set up waves with known amplitudes and synthesize them, I'll find that for essentially all random combinations of phases, the thing I get is an object not confined. It takes a very clever combination of the phases of all those waves to add up to something in only one region; and cancel out everywhere else.

We are really combining things from three centuries.

Waves tossed themselves against the shore, dragging grit and sand between their nails as they were slowly pulled back out to sea.

The waves broke and spread their waters swiftly over the shore. One after another they massed themselves and fell; the spray tossed itself back with the energy of their fall. The waves were steeped deep-blue save for a pattern of diamond-pointed light on their backs which rippled as the backs of great horses ripple with muscles as they move. The waves fell; withdrew and fell again, like the thud of a great beast stamping.

We're just going to see this in waves over and over again.