Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
informative
inspiring
This is a brilliant introduction to systems thinking. Concise, practical, accessible, thought-provoking and intriguing enough to inspire further research and study of the field — exactly what a primer should be.
I hope that it will become required reading in basic high school curriculum, preferably world-wide. And soon. In today's world this type of thinking and basic system understanding is increasingly becoming an absolute necessity for everybody. Arithmetic is optional these days, but the ability to see and analyze system dynamics is a matter of survival.
Excellent starting point worth recommending and revisiting. (And having in more than one format — physical, digital, audio — for easy reference and annotation.)
I hope that it will become required reading in basic high school curriculum, preferably world-wide. And soon. In today's world this type of thinking and basic system understanding is increasingly becoming an absolute necessity for everybody. Arithmetic is optional these days, but the ability to see and analyze system dynamics is a matter of survival.
Excellent starting point worth recommending and revisiting. (And having in more than one format — physical, digital, audio — for easy reference and annotation.)
As my start and end dates reveal, it took me a long time to get through this book. Or rather, it took me a long time to get through the first 3 chapters. Once I got past the science-y section, which I found pretty dull, it was just what I hoped it would be.
This book first entered my awareness at a dharma talk from UPAYA Zen Center in New Mexico. The great Joanna Macy is centered in systems thinking, which is a foundation of Deep Ecology. And somehow, naturally, it all sounds a lot like Buddhism: not clinging to what you think you see, not clinging to an idea when another contradicts it, and above all recognizing the interconnection and interrelatedness of all things; that whether we can see the impact now or not, everything we do has an impact that reverberates far beyond our consciousness. Loved it.
This book first entered my awareness at a dharma talk from UPAYA Zen Center in New Mexico. The great Joanna Macy is centered in systems thinking, which is a foundation of Deep Ecology. And somehow, naturally, it all sounds a lot like Buddhism: not clinging to what you think you see, not clinging to an idea when another contradicts it, and above all recognizing the interconnection and interrelatedness of all things; that whether we can see the impact now or not, everything we do has an impact that reverberates far beyond our consciousness. Loved it.
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Good and useful book. Starts a little slow, would’ve liked more examples early on. Would be nice to have an updated version, too. Wonder what this book would’ve been like if Meadows could have finished it on her own… Worth a read/listen… and probably a re-read for those who haven’t read it in a while. Much of Perspectives course at YSE based on this. A lot seems obvious, but isn’t often how we view things, therefore very useful and somewhat profound. Read for work
Part one is a good overview of systems with helpful visuals. Most of the rest of it is boring, repetitive, and in the case of the final chapter, pretentious. In the introduction, the author starts the book off on a bad note by listing problems facing the world today such as war, poverty, and environmental catastrophe, then saying “No one deliberately creates those problems [and] no one wants them to persist.” Absurd! In addition, she stigmatizes addiction and treats the tragedy of the commons as a legitimate phenomenon.
There is so much I appreciate about this book. My favorite chapter is Chapter 6 on Leverage Points.
informative
slow-paced
informative
slow-paced
Need to reread. It’s a deceptively simple book such that I kept tuning out statements that seemed obvious and then realized I’d missed less obvious enlightenment. Easy read, soporific narrator.
“All models are wrong, some models are useful.” Thinking in Systems is a text setting down terminology and thinking about our models for very basic systems to start (e.g. a washtub simultaneously filling and draining), eventually moving to the very complex (e.g. nuclear stockpiles). From there the text describes how a system stabilizes or breaks down and invites the reader to think about how they might interpret (and potentially change) the systems at work all around us. An excellent text for managers of people or processes.