Reviews - Denken in systemen

Denken in systemen by Donella H. Meadows

439 reviews for:

I read this because I felt that I functioned as part of many systems, that they were largely dysfunctional, and that I wanted to change that.

I learned about some ways of thinking about complex systems, and some ways they fall into dysfunctional behaviors. I learned about some sorts of stimuli that seem to have more or less impact on systems. I also read about an attitude towards existing with systems that was focused on harmony and not on control. This helped articulate a new lens with which to see the world; it also illuminated another aspect of what sort of life I want to lead.

Definitely worth the time spent reading and thinking.

mdibaiee's review against another edition

5.0

Great book in general, highly recommended if you just have the curiosity to analyse and think about phenomena around you, because everything can be seen as a system so this book is a helpful guide on how to see and try to understand *everything*.

srucket's review against another edition

4.0

informative medium-paced

brashtech's review against another edition

4.0

I was very drawn to the visual representation of systems, but was disappointed in the lack of actual math. Though obviously the goal of the book was to introduce systems thinking without the math, I felt that talking around the math made things a lot more fuzzy, and a formal presentation of the equations that went into her system models would have made things much clearer—for me, anyway. (The appendices had some math but lacked the explanation to connect the equations clearly to the diagrams. E.g. What does it mean mathematically when an arrow points to a cluster of words on the diagram? What exactly does it mean when two arrowheads meet?) My curiosity is piqued and I'm definitely going to find some more mathy sources to learn form, and this book poses a lot of interesting questions about the uses—and limitations—of this approach.