Introduction When learning about systems, one should never forget that a person always represents an element of a system. To point out a universal example, remember that the universe (pun intended) consists of a system from which we can never escape. Don’t worry, however, although the small structural changes we make will not affect the … Continue reading Cure Worse Than Disease

Introduction We humans, suffer the same weaknesses as other creatures: we have a strong will to survive. We really don’t have a high capacity for creativity. If we find a way out of one problem, we tend to try the same solution when we encounter a problem that looks similar to one that we encountered … Continue reading The Easy Way Out

Introduction Have you ever heard of someone coming down with a severe headache, taking a large dose of headache medicine, and feeling just fine in a couple of hours? The next day, the same thing occurs. The person checks into the hospital several weeks later to find out they have brain cancer. Four days later, … Continue reading Systemic Behavior Grows Better

Introduction While in college, I had an American history professor who said that when a bully pushed a kid into a corner and kept pushing him, the kid would eventually push back (he phrased it a bit more crudely, but adults might read this article). You might have guessed that he told this story to … Continue reading The System Pushes Back

Introduction Systems have “feedbacks,” or a transfer of information, that we frequently do not recognize when they occur. For example, when you flip a lightswitch the light comes on. That gives us information that the switch, the electricity, and the light bulb are all working. When we fill a bathtub, we see the water level … Continue reading Yesterday’s Solutions