Understanding

• We often only have partial understanding of phenomena, systems science (ss) aims to provide more complete understanding
  • We only have partial understanding of gravity—enough to predict the behavior of objects, but we don’t understand why our formulas work/why gravity works the way it does
• All sciences expose relational patterns by organizing knowledge, SS clarifies this process of understanding in an non-domain specific way

Mental Models of the World: Cognitive Understanding

• We rely on mental models (implicit knowledge) running in our subconscious to effectively interact with the world
• SS can help us organize and make sense of our mental models

Formal Models: The extension of cognitive understanding

• We use language, signs, and symbols to build external, formal models of the world — these improve our understanding and ability to communicate
• The power of formal modelling has led to a situation where the disciplines are increasingly isolated from each other as they develop specialized languages. As their understanding of a small piece increases, it gets harder to see connections between pieces. SS can help remedy this situation.

Why an Education in Systems Science

• SS is not just about tech
• Modern education systems favor domain-specific subjects over the liberal studies programs that traditionally developed broad knowledge and generalized critical thinking
• Until recently society assumed the skills necessary for contributing productivity to government/industry were domain specific, now people are recognizing the problems facing us require a cross-disciplinary approach
• A systems approach provides a common language that facilitates integration of learnings across domains
• Basic SS education gives students an understanding of of understanding and how to achieve it wherever they specialize

Why a textbook on Systems Science?

• There are no textbooks that systematically review the various subtopics of SS and then give an integrated view of the discipline
• Systemness is a useful mental framework for thinking about everything

Why is this textbook the first of its kind?

• General Systems Theory was developed in the 1950s, published in 68, and aimed to identify universal laws applicable to all systems described formally with mathematics