chaos theory Archives

Recombination: The Missing Link Between Linear and Non-Linear Views of Change

November 6, 2010 Cameron D. Norman 411 Views chaos theory, complexity, health behaviour change, psychology, systems thinking

I teach a course in health behaviour change and one in systems thinking perspectives on public health. Both courses complement

education & learning psychology systems thinking

Social (non) Sense-making

February 7, 2010 Cameron D. Norman 646 Views chaos theory, communication, complexity, complexity theory, edge of chaos, education, learning, philosophy, psychology, social learning, social media, social networks, systems, teaching

What is true in the world of social media and decision making is a matter of interpretation. However that interpretation, often off-loaded to others in crowdsourcing models, might not work well when strong ties are needed to foster quality decisions.

health systems thinking

Cohesion vs. Diversity

September 2, 2009September 3, 2009 Cameron D. Norman 597 Views chaos theory, cities, community, diversity, edge of chaos, food systems, health, public health, social cohesion, social determinants of health, systems thinking, Toronto, urbanism

Systems function well at the ‘edge of chaos’. In social systems that means balancing diversity with cohesion, but there are aspects to both that are troubling and may be highly incompatible. Can we have both or do we have to sacrifice one for the other?

systems thinking

Making the Invisible Visible

August 29, 2009 Cameron D. Norman 500 Views accessibility, chaos theory, design, edge of chaos, eHealth, learning, systems dynamics, systems thinking

Hurting your back really changes how you see the world, including the boundaries and assumptions of the systems we live in and design. This post looks at how a simple problem led to some complex revelations about systems thinking.