Systems Thinking and Its Applications

These flashcards cover key concepts related to systems thinking, its components, and implications in various contexts.

Systems thinking

A way to detect the patterns that connect parts and determine the rules that govern their connections.

Emergent properties

Characteristics of the whole system that are not present in the parts in isolation.

Feedback loops

Measures of system output that are applied back into the system as inputs to control the system.

Reinforcing feedback

Pushes a system away from equilibrium, creating growth or decay.

Balancing feedback

Drives the system towards its goal, creating stability.

Nested systems

Systems that sit inside of other systems, making it hard to identify where one system ends and another begins.

Downward causation

The behavior of the parts is influenced by the behavior of the whole.

Reductionism

Analyzing a system by dividing it into its parts, which can lead to misunderstanding the system's behavior.

Side effects

Secondary, unanticipated outcomes that arise from circular causality in systems.

Feedforward loops

The result from people acting on predictions about the future, often associated with self-fulfilling prophecies.

Moore’s Law

The observation that the complexity for minimum component costs has increased at a rate of roughly a factor of two per year in computing power.

Systems as black boxes

Systems are often viewed this way, emphasizing the need for deeper analysis of interconnections.

Input and output in systems

Inputs are raw materials or data fed into the system, while outputs are the finished goods or results produced.

Complex view of the economy

Understanding the economy involves analyzing various interconnected factors such as growth rates, interest rates, and inflation.

Standard thinking

Focuses on linear causal relations, whereas systems thinking considers circular causality.