Consists of 4 parts: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4.

I started with this lecture and then fell into the rabbit hole.

• Systems thinking in a nutshell: you can’t and shouldn’t reason about the system (any system) by breaking this system apart.
• System is the smallest set of the interconnected parts, without properly functioning of any of parts the system doesn’t function.
• Example 1: human body. Heart doesn’t live without body, brain doesn’t think without body and so on.
• Example 2: the best car doesn’t consist of the best parts. If you take best parts from different cars — it wouldn’t fit, there won’t be a car.
• Example 3: the architect doesn’t plan house from the kitchen. The architect plans from the highest level with the limitations according to a customer.
• The most important thought (not new, but the lecture is not modern either). If you take any organization and put 2 (false) limitations: nothing will change (policies, plans etc.) and the future will change but only in ways you expect it too — any organization will destroy itself. Because it’s a static (non-adaptive) system in a dynamic environment. You don’t know how, but. This projection, this thought experiment reveals the inherent weakness or self-destructive tendency in the current organization. It actually explains my (not only mine, of course) dislike of doom prophecies about big things. Like Climate Change or Cancel Culture. On “both” sides there is a clear denial of any adaptations during the process. And in this denial they plot the Doom’s Day of X.
• Continuation of this projection: automobile industry. How many new roads do we need (in 1960) to accommodate the growth of personal cars use? According to a model — something like 40% of the city surface must be covered in roads (not cool). How to mitigate? Change the design of the car or change the design of the city. Automobile industry (Ford) had no interest in changes, so they published a paper about the city design, and there was a major that implemented this design for his city: Cuautitlán Izcalli (I’m wondering if it’s still true, though). And the car manufacturers made smaller and smaller cars etc.
• Electronic funds transfer system came to life because they projected the need in checks clearing into the future and realized that it requires way to much effort then possible.