Chapter 4 Notes: 552

1. Systems are always changing, therefore the system is never the same.
This reminds me of the saying about the river never being the same river because the water is always flowing.

2. Everything in the world is a model, nothing we picture in our head is reality.
The world doesn't always behave the way we expect it to, therefore, we are always being surprised. If the world was as we expected it to be, life would be unbelievably simple, no one would ever be caught off guard or confused. If each system ran predictably we would most likely not have many things which were spawned from self-organization.

3. Our ignorance of the world overshadows our knowledge of it. The more we learn about the world, the more we realize we don't know. For example, a huge percentage of the earth is water and compared to what we know of the things on land, we know nothing of what lies in the depths of the ocean, or what systems exist there. The more we know of what we already know shows us what we don't.

4. Systems are presented as a chain/series of events, which make them seem simple, this is called dynamic patterns of behavior. However, what we fail to observe is WHY. What is the purpose of a system and why is it occurring. Such as an election, we know we have to elect a new president because we are suppose to, but do we really know the root of why we have to?
5. In the diagrams, clouds are nonexistent boundaries, which to me seems contradictory because although they themselves have no boundaries, they provide boundaries to the system even though Meadows says that they are merely allowing us to ignore other stocks.  Clouds can technically be put anywhere, if a person wants to expand further on a diagram they need only replace the cloud with another cloud. T

1. A linear relationship between two elements is a system that can be drawn on a graph with a straight line. This relationship has constant proportions. This relationship is strictly between two things, such as amount of coffee grounds put in a pot and how much coffee is made.
2. A nonlinear relationship is one in which the cause does not produce a proportional effect. BEcause the world is unpredictable, these relationships are frequent. The best example I can think of is interpersonal relationships, if I encourage one person to do something and they do it, it's linear, if I encourage them to do something and they do the opposite, or something extremely dramatic, then it could be nonlinear.
3.In certain situations, clouds can make boundaries too small therefore complicating systems because other factors are necessary to understand the system.
4.WE MAKE OUR OWN SYSTEM BOUNDARIES. This phrase to me really resonated because with counseling, therapists need to set boundaries for their clients and they are totally self-imposed and can be changed with each
5.Although our minds are quick to jump to a single linear cause and effect situation, we should be aware that there are multiple causes for each and every effect. For example, when a plant grows in the backyard, there are many factors associated with its survival, such as climate, animal and other plant life, humans, water etc. All these things contribute to its life.

1. How do you know when to create a boundary on a system?
2. When creating a system, do time and delays need to be factored in to make the system accurate?