Why Some People Get Sick and Others Don't: A New Emergent-Field Model of Disease Susceptibility
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: This study investigates one of the most persistent medical mysteries: why two individuals with nearly identical genetics and environments can experience dramatically different health outcomes. Using a high-resolution emergent-field simulation, the work models how tiny, almost undetectable perturbations amplify into large-scale differences in system organization. The findings show that disease susceptibility does not originate solely from genes or environmental exposures, but from deeper coherence structures that govern how a system stabilizes or destabilizes under stress. Even with 99% genetic similarity and minimal environmental variation, individuals diverge due to differences in emergent field organization, producing distinct susceptibility profiles. This framework introduces a new lens for understanding illness—one rooted in whole-system dynamics rather than isolated biological factors. The results suggest new possibilities for prediction, risk assessment, and the foundational science of why some people become ill while others remain unaffected.
Author: Slawson, Drew
Language: English
Topic: Complex Systems and Dynamics
Subfield: Statistical and Nonlinear Physics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7110060317
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