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Has anyone read Thinking in Systems: A Primer? Best next read?
I read thinking in systems a primer by Donella Meadows and really found it interesting. I have been struggling to find a follow up book about systems aimed at a reader with intermediate but non specialist Knowledge of systems thinking. They are all either to basic, too advanced, or so dry it’s impossible to concentrate. Has anyone found a good follow on book for this book?
I appreciate this might be a bit of a niche topic!
Systemantics is another seminal text, but it may or may not be useful - personally I found that the value added was relatively little if you really grokked Thinking in Systems.
It's a very different book, but I highly recommend Antifragile if you haven't read it yet. In short, antifragility - the concept of improving from disorder/shocks - is an emergent property of complex systems that is incredibly important to the way the world works.
Thank you, I’ll check both out. I’ve read thinking in systems quite a few times but usually find value added from reading a different author.
I really enjoyed An Introduction to Systems Biology by Uri Alon. Yes, it’s specific to biology, but the concepts are from the domain of physics (Uri was originally trained as a physicist). So there’s a lot to take away for the everyone. The unique perspective here is from nature: system architectures and features that have been optimized over millions of years to be robust and efficient.
He teaches in a highly accessible manner, with optional mathematical descriptions. Technically it’s a textbook but it reads like any other pop sci book—it’s actually not that dry (though it is dense).
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.1201/9780429283321/introduction-systems-biology-uri-alon
I'm refreshing this in the hopes that other users of tildes will have good recommendations for books on systems! It is the most important thing, and, while I grasp it rather well, I also can't shake the haunting feeling that there are entire domains of knowledge of which I am completely unaware.
This is exactly how I feel, if you find anything good, please drop me a message (and I’ll do the same if I find something)!
It feels like some many problems and misunderstandings arise from people trying to understand a thing which is a hidden/non obvious system and they don’t recognise it or treat it as such.