Table 1 Complexity science compared with established science.

Complexity science	Established science
Holism	Reductionism
Indeterminism	Determinism
Relationships among entities	Discrete entities
Non‐linear relationships	Linear relationships
Critical mass thresholds	Marginal increases
Quantum physics	Newtonian physics
Influence through iterative non‐linear feedback	Influence as direct result of force from one object to another
Expect novel and probabilistic world	Expect predictable world
Understanding; sensitivity analysis	Prediction
Focus on variation	Focus on averages
Behavior emerges from bottom up	Behavior specified from top down
Metaphor of morphogenesis	Metaphor of assembly

From Begun et al.¹⁸