"Thinking in Systems: A Guide to Harnessing the Power of Complexity" by Donella H. Meadows, International Bestseller

Leib Gershon Mitchell: Book Review
Thinking in Systems
1/5 stars
*******

This book is trash, a bunch of floating abstractions stapled one to another and then published. (There has to be a reason that this book was not published on a reputable label. And the fact that it sold quite a few copies doesn't mean that much to me, because "50 Shades of Gray" sold quite a few.)

I do know that the word "system" is competing for the top spot of the most overused / misused word in the entirety of the English language.

("Systemic racism" /"A broken system"/"The system is stacked"/"So and so are systematically oppressed.")

I thought that this very old book by a very long dead woman would help clarify some of the concept of systems and give operational terms. (And I have to say that I had wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt because of her Harvard PhD. Although, she did have a have a heavier burden of proof, as she was never anything but a teacher of Environmental Studies)

But, no, she did not bring any clarity to the subject.

It's quite clear that:

1. She is just relexifying the same hackneyed, failed garbage that people have already wasted their...

United States on Nov 24, 2023

juan diaz: No paradigms, no pundits, only fact checked truth and error embracement has to be the human beings guidance. Really a subversive reading that is ignored almost everywhere by almost everyone.

Spain on Oct 27, 2023

Christian W.P.: This is one of those "before and after" books that lets you see everything in a new way. I bought this to help me organize my teams at work, but find myself surprised. There are deep insights into the broadest social areas like ecology, economics, politics, as well as the most reductionist physical systems like human health, factories, and computers. This new framework of analysis makes many long intractable problems of nature and society seem solvable. Every page has something to discover: The book is a great work of science.

United States on Oct 06, 2023

Amazon Customer: What a beautiful perspective it brings to complexity in the world around us. It humbled me and strengthened and deepened my insight to complexity and systems. Wonderful.

India on Oct 02, 2023

Ventura D: Organizations have many moving parts. Without systems thinking, decision-makers may find themselves reacting to problems sequentially rather than being proactive and focusing on the most important parts of the system. Systems thinking clarifies relationships among the parts and helps make sure that they work together to achieve the desired goal. The Meadows book is simply written and easy to understand. It is valuable not only for optimizing processes and organizations, but it also helps the reader clarify his or her own thinking process. If you read this book and others in your organization do not, you may find yourself frustrated by incoherent actions and decisions made by others. Make sure to give them copies of this book.

United States on Sep 05, 2023

Graf Uwe von St. Rollé: Das Buch von Dana Meadows ist sehr anschaulich geschrieben und liefert zugleich einen - bleibenden - Eindruck zu dem Thema "Systeme". Ich habe es in kurzer Zeit genuesslich verschlungen, es ist wirklich eine Freude zu lesen und die Beispiele sind auch gut begreiflich. Ich verstehe jetzt auch, warum ich am Ende des Monats immer pleite bin und werde wohl den einen oder anderen Feedback loop aendern muessen. Spass beiseite, ich kann dieses Buch wirklich nur sehr empfehlen. Und bevor ihr fragt, ja, es hat auch etwas mit Klimawandel zu tun, aber eben nicht nur :-)

Germany on Aug 30, 2023

Justin Soetendal: Hoe verder en meer ik het boek lees, des te meer ik erachter kom dat Thinking in Systems een verwetenschappelijkte en meer exoterische vorm en uitleg is van de essentie van Alchemie, in tegenstelling tot de meer traditionele, meer mystieke en esoterische verhandelingen over de essentie van Alchemie.

Als je het weet, dan weet je het.

Netherlands on Aug 08, 2023

S. Merino: El inicio del libro es algo decepcionante. Los primeros capítulos hacen una definición formal (demasiado simplista en mi opinión) de qué son los sistemas y cómo se interrelacionan sus partes. Habla de flujos, stocks y cómo los cambios de unos afectan a los otros.
En esos 3-4 primeros capítulos no creo que se aporte nada al lector (yo personalmente estuve a punto de dejar el libro).

Sin embargo, todo cambia en el capítulo 5 llamado "Systems Traps ... and Opportunities". Ahí se cubren comportamientos disfuncionales a los que los sistemas se enfrentan y cómo es posible escapar de esas trampas. Este capítulo es oro, en mi opinión.
El capítulo llamado "Leverage points" hace una relación sobre aquellas palancas que pueden usarse para variar el comportamiento de un sistema, graduadas según su potencia de cambio sobre éste.

Sólo por estos dos capítulos y la reflexión a las que te hacen llegar merece la pena el libro.

Spain on Jul 19, 2023

Cody AllenCody Allen: Thinking in systems is analogous to ‘zooming out’ and looking at something from a broader perspective. Whether you are examining the functions of a social body, a corporate body, a governmental body, or a human body, the processes are generally the same. Each system has an intended goal (strengthening community bonds, monetary growth, keeping the body alive) and it has different processes for how it achieves this goal.

All systems have a ‘stock’ which is the foundation of what the system uses to achieve its goal. Stocks are things like “the water in a bathtub, a population, the books in a bookstore, the wood in a tree, the money in a bank, your own self-confidence,” which are subject to the flows of the system. “Flows are filling and draining, births and deaths, purchases and sales, growth and decay, deposits and withdrawals, successes and failures.” Stock is what you have at any one moment in time and the flow is how it changes.

Let’s take the human body as an example. The body’s stock is comprised of its organs, bones, muscles, tissues, and all the things on the inside that keep it running. The body’s flow is the intake of food and water,...

United States on Oct 06, 2021