The world system evokes mystery and complexity. An amorphous thing that is not easily understood that has some nefarious agenda. A political system that keeps the rich richer and the poor poorer. “The system is keeping us down.” Or a machine that is seem too complicated for us to comprehend. “I am not good with computer systems.” Systems seem unapproachable or unchangeable. “What’s the point in voting, the system is broken?”
The reality is that these intuitions are partially right:
Systems can be complex but can be understood. Systems can be changed, they just inherently don’t want to change
But what is a system?
My favorite definition is that a System has a purpose and is made of up two or more connected parts, each of the parts affect each other.
Example 1: A car is a system that is made of many connected parts (Engine, Transmission, body, etc.) and the purpose of the car is to get you from point a to b. What makes a car a car is not only the parts, but the parts fitting together. You can have all the parts but if the parts do not fit together you do not have a car.
We are inherently reductionist. To understand a thing, we take it apart and look at the parts but overlook how the parts are connected.
Key idea: the connections are as important as the parts.
Example 2: A human is a system that is made of many connected parts (heart, lung, veins) and the primary purpose is life.
“None of the parts live, only you live. That is easily provable, cut off your hand and see what it does” Russ Ackoff.
Key idea: none of the parts have can fulfill the purpose the system.
Example 3: A planet is a system containing many systems the purpose of which is to maintain life.
Key Idea: Systems are usually contained within systems.
Systems are complex yet predictable.
Local optimization hurt the whole
If you focus on a part of the system and ignore the whole system, bad things tend to happen. A body builder optimizes accelerates muscle growth and negatively impacting the other organs ultimately impacting the systems very purpose.
A young gamer over clocks their new computer so it can go faster which will raise the temperature of the computer which can impact the other components.
Other predictable behaviors of a system:
Quick fixes are usually bad
The harder you push a system the harder it pushes back
When changing a system, things will get worse before it gets better
The smallest changes in a system produce the biggest results, the hard part is to know where to make the change.
The pain in the system is usually causes some where else in the system.
Changing a system is very difficult.
It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things; for the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order; this lukewarmness arising partly from the incredulity of mankind who does not truly believe in anything new until they actually have experience of it. Nicolo Machiavelli (1469 - 1527)
If you plan on changing a system the first thing you need to learn is how to see a system. That is what we will explore next.