Thinking in Levels: A Dynamic Systems Approach to Making Sense of the World

摘要

The concept of emergent "levels" (i. e., levels that arise from interactions of objects at lower levels) is fundamental to scientific theory. In this paper, we argue for an expanded role for this concept of levels in science education. We show confusion of levels (and "slippage" between levels) as the source of many of people's deep misunderstandings about patterns and phenomena in the world.