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A carregar... An Introduction to General Systems Thinking (Silver Anniversary Edition) (original 1975; edição 2001)por Gerald M. Weinberg
Informação Sobre a ObraAn Introduction to General Systems Thinking por Gerald M. Weinberg (1975)
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Adira ao LibraryThing para descobrir se irá gostar deste livro. Ainda não há conversas na Discussão sobre este livro. This book has lots of good content -- I was highlighting frequently -- but it's not the easiest read. The high level idea of general systems thinking is that there are large classes of problems that are difficult to analyze. Problems with small number of pieces and lots of structure -- organized simplicity -- can be handled analytically. Problems with many pieces and lots of randomness -- unorganized complexity -- can be handled statistically. Those systems in between -- medium systems -- are too large to be handled analytically but not large enough to be handled statistically. To illustrate this with an example from the text, one can fully analyze the way that the flu spreads through a very small group of people, e.g., a family. Alternately, one can statistically analyze the way the flu spreads through a population. But figuring out how the flu spreads through a medium sized group -- a school for example -- is difficult, and a system that was analyzable at other scales suddenly has complex and surprising behavior. As "The Law of Medium Numbers" puts it: "For medium number systems, we can expect that large fluctuations, irregularities, and discrepancy with with any theory will occur more or less regularly." So where does that leave us? General systems thinking is the field of creating models and understanding the limitations of those models. An important part of this is understanding how different models can seem contradictory yet both be correct. Along the way, Weinberg diverts into discussions of scientific theories and social subcultures. These passages alone make the ideas in the book worthwhile, and I expect that we would have a lot less controversy over models like evolution and climate change if people understood better how models work. I read this book in the 1980s, probably, and now am writing this review in 2021. This is a book that changed my way of thinking. It's written in an almost jokey style, but is a very serious description of how to think about complex collections of people, ideas, processes, and objects. I learned here to view much of what goes on in the world as systems. sem críticas | adicionar uma crítica
For more than twenty-five years, An Introduction to General Systems Thinking has been hailed as an innovative introduction to systems theory, with applications in computer science and beyond. Used in university courses and professional seminars all over the world, the text has proven its ability to open minds and sharpen thinking.Originally published in 1975 and reprinted more than twenty times over a quarter century-and now available for the first time from Dorset House Publishing-the text uses clear writing and basic algebraic principles to explore new approaches to projects, products, organizations, and virtually any kind of system.Scientists, engineers, organization leaders, managers, doctors, students, and thinkers of all disciplines can use this book to dispel the mental fog that clouds problem-solving. As author Gerald M. Weinberg writes in the new Preface to the Silver Anniversary Edition, "I haven't changed my conviction that most people don't think nearly as well as they could had they been taught some principles of thinking."Now an award-winning author of nearly forty books spanning the entire software development life cycle-including The Psychology of Computer Programming: Silver Anniversary Edition and Exploring Requirements (with Donald C. Gause)-Weinberg had already acquired extensive experience as a programmer, manager, university professor, and consultant when this book was originally published.With helpful illustrations, numerous end-of-chapter exercises, and an appendix on a mathematical notation used in problem-solving, An Introduction to General Systems Thinking may be your most powerful tool in working with problems, systems, and solutions. Não foram encontradas descrições de bibliotecas. |
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I preferred his "Psychology of Computer Programming" for accessibility. ( )