Subject: Michael Crichton on Complexity Theory and Systems Dynamics

Posted by Richard Turnock on 12/20/2009
In Reply To:Michael Crichton on Complexity Theory and Systems Dynamics Posted by Tim Joy on 12/20/2009

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How should we teach high school students to respond to Michael Crichton's presentation on complex systems? How do we make his thinking visible so that we can critique it?
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I wish he was still around to participate in this debate. He was excellent at mixing fiction and fact, imagining a different world and then using his skill with language to share with us in books, on television and in movies. He was gifted at being able to talk about so many different scientific topics. He must have learned how to learn and kept at it for decades to be able to discuss complexity theory.

I think using Crichton’s body of work in books and movies might be a place to start a discussion with high school students. His speech on complex systems was a wide ranging entertainment event and might be critiqued from the viewpoint of a speechwriter or audience. Was it persuasive, what was his goal, what was the purpose of his speech?

Richard