systems thinking

systems thinking

cyberneticsthinking about systems primarily as

dynamic patterns of interaction and feedback

(rather than as static abstractions)

your wife is very

beautiful

Just calling it "feedback" doesn't mean that it has actually fed back.

The amount of feedback built into living organisms differs by many orders of magnitude from the amount we build into man-made systems.John Gall

There is not one living creature that lacks that integrated, total unification through feedback. John Gall

Compared to a frog or a salamander, our biggest manmade systems seem like simple wind-up toys.John Gall

Ignoring feedback merely means that the system will eventually experience a massive unpleasant surprise rather than a small unpleasant surprise.John Gall

It may look like a crisis, but it's only the end of an illusion.

tinitus

danger

change

Blood Sugar

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insulin

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insulin

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liver &muscles

Hyperglycemia

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sensespancreas causes

insulin

senses

liver &muscles

causes glycogen

Hyperglycemia

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sensespancreas causes

insulin

senses

liver &muscles

causes glycogen

Hyperglycemia

is

sensespancreas causes

insulin

senses

liver &muscles

causes glycogen

Hypoglycemia

Hyperglycemia

is

sensespancreas causes

insulin

senses

liver &muscles

causes glycogen

Hypoglycemia

Hyperglycemia

pancreas

senses

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sensespancreas causes

insulin

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liver &muscles

causes glycogen

Hypoglycemia

Hyperglycemia

pancreas

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glucagoncauses

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causes glycogen

Hypoglycemia

Hyperglycemia

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sensespancreas causes

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causes glycogen

Hypoglycemia

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Systems tend to oppose their own proper function.

Henri Louis Le Chatelier

Le Chatelier's Principle

All change can be understood as the effort to maintain some constancy...

All change can be understood as the effort to maintain some constancy......and all constancy as maintained through change.

The battle over food and territory between two species is only one half of the story.

The battle over food and territory between two species is only one half of the story. ...the battle is a means or process of generating, maintaining, and stabilizing an ecosystem.Gregory BatesonSteps to an Ecology of Mind (I think)

evolution

evolution is always

evolution is always

co-evolutionJohn Gall

What is involved is not simply survival

of the fittest

What is involved is not simply survival

of the fittestbut survival of the

fitting-in-est.John Gall

break;

slack

Queues amplify variability. Moving from 75 to 95% utilization increases variability by 25 times.

local optimization=~=

global pessimization

the whole is greater than the sum of the

parts

Successful change can only come in the context of a clear understanding of what may never change, what the organization stands for. ...

If nothing is declared unchangeable, then the organization will resist all change. When there is no defining vision, the only way the organization can define itself is its stasis.

Every effect has a cause...

The Causation Fallacy

Every effect has a cause... and we can tell which is which.

The Causation Fallacy

defects latenesscause effect

====

defectslateness

cause effect====

The Law of Unintended Consequences

Failure demand

"Demand caused by a failure to do something or do something right for the customer"

John Seddon

Failure demand in software

?