Public Participation: Finding Knowledge and Clarity in Chaos

This essay uses the metaphor of chaos as a way to comprehend and deal with the complexity, ambiguity and diversity of public participation in practice and research. The proposition is threefold. First, what we hold to be 'knowledge' is a momentary truth: temporally, spatially and socially bounded. Second, 'chaos' is the crucial factor leading to new ways of thinking. And third, comfort in the process of knowledge generation is key to generating the 'clarity' needed for new visions. The narrative approach encourages readers to take on a collaborative and interactive role with the text as the author explores writing and metaphor as a method of discovery. Adapted from the source document.