May R M
Nature. 1976 Jun 10;261(5560):459-67. doi: 10.1038/261459a0.
First-order difference equations arise in many contexts in the biological, economic and social sciences. Such equations, even though simple and deterministic, can exhibit a surprising array of dynamical behaviour, from stable points, to a bifurcating hiearchy of stable cycles, to apparently random fluctuations. There are consequently many fascinating problems, some concerned with delicate mathematical aspects of the fine structure of the trajectories, and some concerned with the practical implications and applications. This is an interpretive review of them.
一阶差分方程在生物、经济和社会科学的许多领域都会出现。这类方程尽管简单且具有确定性，但却能展现出一系列令人惊讶的动态行为，从稳定点到稳定周期的分支层次结构，再到看似随机的波动。因此存在许多引人入胜的问题，有些涉及轨迹精细结构的微妙数学方面，有些则涉及实际意义和应用。本文是对这些问题的解释性综述。
