# Introduction: The System Lens [[All problems are complicated]] [[The system causes its own behavior]] [[Humans resist and recognize systems principles at the same time]] [[Humans tend to believe that the cause of a problem is out there rather than in here]] [[System problems can only be solved by restructuring the system]] # Pt.1 System Structure and Behavior ## Elements, Interconnections and Purpose Definition: [[A system is an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something]] ## Stock, Flow, Feedback Loops & Delay [[A system is made up of flows and stocks]] [[Feedback Loops]] [[The dominant loop determines the system behavior]] [[Delays are ubiquitous in systems]] [[Delays cause oscillation, over(under)shoots and collapes]] ## Study of System Behaviours [[Large systems are complex and counterintuitive with surprising behaviours]] [[Dynamic system studies focus on what would happen instead of what will happen]] --- # Pt.2 Systems & Us ## 3. Why systems work so well -- Characters of a system ### Resilience [[Resilience enables systems to survive within a variable environment]] [[Systems need to be managed for resilience]] ### Self-Organization This capacity of a system to make its own structure more complex, to learn, diversify, and complexify. [[Self-organization is often sacrificed for short-term productivity or stability]] [[Self-organization often threatens stability and power structures]] [[Self-organization is hard to kill]] [[Self-organization can stem from just a few simple principles]] ### Hierarchy [[Hierarchical systems evolve from the bottom up]] [[The purpose of the upper layers of the hierarchy is to serve the purposes of the lower layers]] [[A hierarchy must balance between subsystems and the total system]] ## 4. Why Systems Surprise Us [[All knowledge about the world is a model]] [[All models are simplifications of the real world]] [[Our knowledge and ignorance is a duality]] ### Beguiling Events Events --> Behavior --> Structure [[Events are the most visible but not always the most important]] -- [[Much analysis in the world goes no deeper than events]] [[System structure is the source of system behavior]] -- [[Behavior-based models often fail to understand longterm system performance]] ### Linear Minds in a Nonlinear World [[Humans tend to think in linearities and causations]] [[The world is full of nonlinearities]] => [[Nonlinearities contribute to complex system behaviors]] ### Nonexistent Bondaries [[The world has no boundaries]] [[Boundaries are artificial]] [[Where to draw the boundary in systems is a careful decision to make]] ### Layers of Limits [[The limiting factor is the most important to a system]] [[Shifting attention to the next limiting factor is essential to growth]] -- does not guarantee perpetual growth though, because [[There will always be limits to growth]] ### Ubiquitous Delays [[Delays are ubiquitous in systems]] [[Foresight is essential in systems that are full of delays]] ### Bounded Rationality P1: [[Individual decisions are only rational within the bounds of information available]] P2: [[People don't have perfect information]] & [[People struggle to actively manage their information|People don't interpret perfectly the imperfect information we do have]] C: [[People acting rationally in their bounded rationality produce aggregate results that does not contribute to the welfare of the system as a whole]] In order to tackle bounded rationality - Individuals -- [[Individuals should strive to break free from their bounded rationality and imperfect information]] in order to [[Recognizing our role is systems is crucial for ethical decision-making|make ethical decisions]] - System designers -- [[Bounded rationality can be broken by redesigning the system and flow of information]] ## 5. System traps & opportunities [[System Trap -- Policy Resistance]] [[System Trap -- Tragedy of the Commons]] [[System Trap -- Drift to Low Performance]] [[System Trap -- Escalation]] [[System Trap -- Success to successful]] [[System Trap -- Shifting the burden to intervenor]] [[System Trap -- Rule Beating]] [[System Trap -- Seeking the Wrong Goal]] --- # Pt.3 Creating Change -- in systems and in our philosophy ## 6. Leverage Points -- Places to Intervene in a System [[System leverage points]] The higher the leverage point, the more the system will resist changing it—that’s why societies often rub out truly enlightened beings. ## 7. Living in a World of Systems - [[Dance with the system instead of trying to predict or control]] - [[Start with observing the behavior of the system before disturbing]] - [[Test your mental model against the reality]] - [[All knowledge about the world is a model]] - Information & Language - [[Information - knowledge is power]] - [[Use language with care]] - [[Language shapes perception by creating meaning, understanding, and reality]] - [[Pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable]] - System designing - Feedback loop -- [[Design feedback loops into a dynamic and learning system]] - Responsibility -- [[Locate responsibility in systems]] - [[The real system is interconnected]] - [[Responsibility means expanding the boundary of caring]] - [[Solving systematic problems require interdisciplinary effort]]