# Thinking in Systems  Author:: Donella H. Meadows ## Highlights > small and understandable ([Location 194](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=194)) - Note: [[Principle of Atomicity]] > Words and sentences must, by necessity, come only one at a time in linear, logical order. Systems happen all at once. They are connected not just in one direction, but in many directions simultaneously. ([Location 229](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=229)) > I don’t think the systems way of seeing is better than the reductionist way of thinking. I think it’s complementary, and therefore revealing. ([Location 260](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=260)) > At a time when the world is more messy, more crowded, more interconnected, more interdependent, and more rapidly changing than ever before, the more ways of seeing, the better. The systems-thinking lens allows us to reclaim our intuition about whole systems and hone our abilities to understand parts, see interconnections, ask “what-if” questions about possible future behaviors, and be creative and courageous about system redesign. Then we can use our insights to make a difference in ourselves and our world. ([Location 264](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=264)) > The behavior of a system cannot be known just by knowing the elements of which the system is made. ([Location 282](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=282)) #### PART ONE System Structure and Behavior ##### The Basics > A system isn’t just any old collection of things. A system* is an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something. If you look at that definition closely for a minute, you can see that a system must consist of three kinds of things: elements, interconnections, and a function or purpose. ([Location 294](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=294)) > A system is more than the sum of its parts. It may exhibit adaptive, dynamic, goal-seeking, self-preserving, and sometimes evolutionary behavior. ([Location 313](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=313)) - Note: [[Emergence]] may be another prerequisite of systems. > No one understands all the relationships that allow a tree to do what it does. That lack of knowledge is not surprising. It’s easier to learn about a system’s elements than about its interconnections. ([Location 347](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=347)) --- Title: Thinking in Systems Author: Donella H. Meadows Tags: readwise, books date: 2024-01-30 --- # Thinking in Systems  Author:: Donella H. Meadows ## AI-Generated Summary None ## Highlights > small and understandable ([Location 194](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=194)) Note: [[Principle of Atomicity]] > Words and sentences must, by necessity, come only one at a time in linear, logical order. Systems happen all at once. They are connected not just in one direction, but in many directions simultaneously. ([Location 229](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=229)) > I don’t think the systems way of seeing is better than the reductionist way of thinking. I think it’s complementary, and therefore revealing. ([Location 260](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=260)) > At a time when the world is more messy, more crowded, more interconnected, more interdependent, and more rapidly changing than ever before, the more ways of seeing, the better. The systems-thinking lens allows us to reclaim our intuition about whole systems and hone our abilities to understand parts, see interconnections, ask “what-if” questions about possible future behaviors, and be creative and courageous about system redesign. Then we can use our insights to make a difference in ourselves and our world. ([Location 264](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=264)) > The behavior of a system cannot be known just by knowing the elements of which the system is made. ([Location 282](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=282)) #### PART ONE System Structure and Behavior ##### The Basics > A system isn’t just any old collection of things. A system* is an interconnected set of elements that is coherently organized in a way that achieves something. If you look at that definition closely for a minute, you can see that a system must consist of three kinds of things: elements, interconnections, and a function or purpose. ([Location 294](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=294)) > A system is more than the sum of its parts. It may exhibit adaptive, dynamic, goal-seeking, self-preserving, and sometimes evolutionary behavior. ([Location 313](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=313)) Note: [[Emergence]] may be another prerequisite of systems. > No one understands all the relationships that allow a tree to do what it does. That lack of knowledge is not surprising. It’s easier to learn about a system’s elements than about its interconnections. ([Location 347](https://readwise.io/to_kindle?action=open&asin=B005VSRFEA&location=347))