Canadian Journal for New Scholars in Education

Steven Khan
unpublished
Volume 3, Issue 1 Revue canadienne des jeunes chercheures et chercheurs en éducation June 2010 Complexity. A guided tour, by Mitchell, M.; Oxford University Press, New York, 2009, USD 29.95 (hardcover), Melanie Mitchell"s expanded version of her invited Ulam Memorial Lectures, "The Past and Future of the Sciences of Complexity," successfully meets the ambitiously stated goal of introducing "nonspecialists to the vast territory of complexity" (p. xii) 1 . Mitchell adopted the role of tour guide
more » ... n an attempt to introduce new readers to some of the core historical and current sites of interest and samples of the biographical and cultural history of the sciences of complexity. For the traveller who is already somewhat familiar with the landscape, there are few new insights to be gleaned. These are contained mostly in the second half of the book as open questions and ideas that require further development. However, the book does present opportunities for these travellers to revisit and renew old acquaintances in a refreshing manner. The tour is divided into five excursions (sections) covering the breadth of the terrain across its 19 chapters. That being said, this is a tour and not a field expedition into the territory. Readers looking for details or depth on the most recent advances are advised to look elsewhere. Her extensive and up-to-date bibliography (up to 2007) is perhaps a good starting point.
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