Systems theory is quietly reshaping how science understands the world. This video is a complete introduction to the systems-theoretical perspective — what it is, why it's revolutionary, and how it challenges the reductionist thinking that has dominated science for 300 years.
3 Comments
FiniteBanjo@feddit.online · 1 pts · 19d
Commander Shepherd?
Dogyote@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 16d
This was an interesting video. I've been in science for many years and what they said makes sense. It seems like we've spent the last 300 years studying the puzzle pieces and now we're nearly capable of putting them together, especially if we have some kind of AI assisting.
But here's where I struggle with systems thinking, I can only mentally occupy one level of a system at a time.
Take biology for example. I could explain how chemical reactions work, then how proteins/enzymes work, then how cells work, then how an organ works, then how an organism works, and then how an ecosystem works.
What I can't really do is explain an ecosystem with chemistry in a meaningful way. They're on different levels. I think the same is true of psychology, sociology, and anthropology, I think those were mentioned in the video.
So can systems thinking bridge between those levels? Is it supposed to?
solo@slrpnk.net · 1 pts · 15d
That's the thing tho, it looks like it was never a puzzle after all. The Newtonian era model of "the universe is working perfectly like a clock" didn't turn out to be a viable model to explain everything, because the messiness of quantum physics blew it away. Which is not messiness really, it's just very contrary to how mechanical clocks work. Something like that.
For me the example with the funnel [around 12:20] worked great. If I got it right the further down you are the less things are to bridge, the further up you go the more parameters come into play.