Systems Thinking at DailyKos

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Monday February 21, 2011 · 10:08 PM PST

2011/02/21 · 22:08

Systems science has largely been the esoteric province of systems scientists. I contend that a basic understanding of systems concepts is absolutely essential to modern literate citizenship.

This is evidently a very high standard. Almost every day I, though a nonprofessional with a basic understanding of some of the core principles of systems science, see political and policy decisions made that reveal a complete lack of understanding of systems.

This is a group dedicated to the promotion and discussion of systems, systems thinking, systems education, and the application of the systems perspective to problems of politics and policy.

Example:

In our mainstream political discourse, competition is considered an unmixed good. A cursory understanding of natural systems reveals to us that although competition can be good, winners are generally bad. The most resilient and diverse systems incorporate feedback loops that limit the ability of competitors to gain a permanent upper hand.

The application of this idea to stock markets/the SEC, corporate mergers/antitrust legislation, robber baron capitalism/regulated capitalism should be obvious.

The price of admission to professional systems science is a fairly high proficiency with mathematics and/or computer science. Systems scientists are to be found among the ranks of engineers, ecologists, statisticians, computer scientists, communications experts, and others who must analyze and deal with complex systems. But the simplest rudiments of systems thought can be taught, and I believe should be taught, to all as a basic component of common literacy.

I'd really like to attract a group of systems amateurs and professionals to discuss the application of systems thought to the issues and problems of our time, and to discuss the incorporation of systems thinking into our educational system.

Any takers?

Baz

Poll
51 votes Show Results
I am interested in systems science and systems thinking and I:

am a complete amateur who is interested in learning more

have been exposed to some rudiments of the topic and want to expand my knowledge

am a systems professional (mention field in comments)

am a teacher who is interested in how I might incorporate systems thinking into my curriculum

If not interested, then pie

51 votes Vote Now!
I am interested in systems science and systems thinking and I:

am a complete amateur who is interested in learning more

13 votes

have been exposed to some rudiments of the topic and want to expand my knowledge

18 votes

am a systems professional (mention field in comments)

14 votes

am a teacher who is interested in how I might incorporate systems thinking into my curriculum

5 votes

If not interested, then pie

2%

1 vote

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