Book : Systems One : An Introduction to Systems Thinking (1980)

Categories: Systems Thinking
Tags: book • complexity • future systems inc • kauffman • systems thinking
Publisher: Future Systems Inc
Author(s): Kauffman, Draper L.
Published: 1980 • ISBN: 9996280519 • • Delivery Format: Hard Copy - Paperback
Available from: Amazon (US) • Amazon (UK) • Amazon (DE)

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Summary
Draper Kauffman, in ‘Systems 1: An Introduction to Systems Thinking’ provides a list of 10 characteristics of, and 22 rules of thumb for the operation of complex systems. Complex System Characteristics
- Self-Stabilizing
- Goal-Seeking
- Program-following
- Self-Reprogramming
- Anticipation
- Environment Modifying
- Self-Replicating
- Self-Maintaining and Repairing
- Self-Reorganizing
- Self-Programming
Complex System Rules of Thumb
- Everything is connected to everything else
- You can never do just one thing
- There is no “away.”
- There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch
- Nature knows best
- If ain’t what you don’t know that hurts you; it’s what you DO know that ain’t so
- “Obvious solutions” do more harm than good
- Look for high leverage points
- Nothing grows forever
- Don’t fight positive feedback; support negative feedback instead
- Don’t try to control the players, just change the rules
- Don’t make rules that can’t be enforced
- There are no simple solutions
- Good intentions are not enough
- High morality depends on accurate prophecy
- If you can’t make people self-sufficient, your aid does more harm than good
- There are no final answers
- Every solution creates new problems
- Loose systems are often better
- Don’t be fooled by system cycles
- Remember the Golden Mean
- Beware the empty compromise
- Don’t be a boiled frog
- Watch our for thresholds
- Competition is often cooperation in disguise
- Bad boundaries make bad governments
- Beware the Tragedy of the Commons
- Foresight always wins in the long run.
This brief primer on ecological and societal systems was to have been the first in a series on systems thinking, but the rest of the series never materialized. Its easy vocabulary, creative cartoons, and use of white space make it a non-threatening place to begin learning about systems.
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