A simple guide to chaos and complexity
Author: Dean Rickles1, Penelope Hawe, Alan Shiell
Affiliation:
1 Department of Philosophy, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada. drickles@ucalgary.ca
Conference/Journal: J Epidemiol Community Health
Date published: 2007 Nov 1
Other:
Volume ID: 61 , Issue ID: 11 , Pages: 933-7 , Special Notes: doi: 10.1136/jech.2006.054254. , Word Count: 117
The concepts of complexity and chaos are being invoked with increasing frequency in the health sciences literature. However, the concepts underpinning these concepts are foreign to many health scientists and there is some looseness in how they have been translated from their origins in mathematics and physics, which is leading to confusion and error in their application. Nonetheless, used carefully, "complexity science" has the potential to invigorate many areas of health science and may lead to important practical outcomes; but if it is to do so, we need the discipline that comes from a proper and responsible usage of its concepts. Hopefully, this glossary will go some way towards achieving that objective.
PMID: 17933949 PMCID: PMC2465602 DOI: 10.1136/jech.2006.054254
BACK
