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Chapter 19 - Converging Paths

What Happens When Different Trajectories Converge?

from Section 3 - Bending the Arc

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 April 2023

Mark P. Khurana
Affiliation:
University of Copenhagen
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Summary

Lobbying, scientific elasticity, and serendipity can all lead to divergent research paths. But there is also an alternative method of changing the trajectory of discovery, which is the focus of Chapter 19: convergence. Conceptually, convergence can loosely be defined as the trajectories of different fields meeting at a common point or area. While very similar to the concept of interdisciplinarity, convergence is more structural and fundamental than the simple exchange of ideas denoted by interdisciplinarity. It doesn’t merely imply people from different backgrounds working together, but rather the effect of entire fields fusing - such as computing and biology combining to create computational biology - opening new avenues of thought and discovery. Chapter 19 is about how convergence can increase the rate of medical discovery, as well as how we can more systematically cultivate convergence in medical science.

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Chapter
Information
The Trajectory of Discovery
What Determines the Rate and Direction of Medical Progress?
, pp. 104 - 108
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Converging Paths
  • Mark P. Khurana, University of Copenhagen
  • Book: The Trajectory of Discovery
  • Online publication: 06 April 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009354424.020
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  • Converging Paths
  • Mark P. Khurana, University of Copenhagen
  • Book: The Trajectory of Discovery
  • Online publication: 06 April 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009354424.020
Available formats
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To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Converging Paths
  • Mark P. Khurana, University of Copenhagen
  • Book: The Trajectory of Discovery
  • Online publication: 06 April 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009354424.020
Available formats
×