(Kolzak)
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Failing Systems
I am (as of yesterday) very sick, because of it I have not be very productive. Due to this 'unproductive-ness' I have been thinking a lot of how systems are connected with each other. My body as a system directly corresponds to my life as a system. Then there is everything involved with my life (but I won't get into that now), if my system were to fail from lack of resistance (from being sick for example) and another system was not put into place then my cat (whom I care for about a lot) will (after a while of not being fed or cared after) no longer be a system any more either.
Things like that are very interesting to think about sometimes. How when one systems fails, other system can be effect, and how many other systems fail because of it.
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Dependencies in systems are always interesting to look at, but another aspect of this is the comfort that your cat can provide you while you are sick. Perhaps this is another example of a two way dependency?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I really hope that you feel better soon.
I also hope you feel better - at least you have the long weekend. One of our kitties looks so much like Kolzak!
ReplyDeleteOne of the written critical questions this week was 'How can systems thinking help?'. I think your insight into the dependency of your work on your health, and the dependency of your cat on you, as examples, is one way that we can stay aware of the potential impacts of a system becoming weak (or letting a system become weak, when we have some influence over them). When we don't have blinders on about these interconnections, we may be less likely to be ignore the needs of the systems we influence. I think it's easy for us to isolate aspects of ourselves or our lives or our environments and imagine they are independent of one another, and that if we ignore some aspect it won't matter. A systems approach can remind us to get enough sleep, to talk to an old friend, to cuddle with a cat, to volunteer somewhere, to look past immediate causes, to buckle down when we need to, to question authority if necessary...
I think you're right Connor, I am pretty dependent on my cat. :) And thanks! I do feel much better.
ReplyDeleteI agree Keli, reading your comment also made me think about how it may be possible to build resilience so a system is less likely to fail. An example would be humans taking vitamins, or giving fertilizer to plants in order for them to be healthier for longer. Would a system understand that it needs to be resilient, or is it all subconscious to system and resilience just goes along with having a system?
Interesting! I'm glad to hear you are feeling better. It is interesting to ponder your question in response to Keli's comment. Does our body have any built in resiliency systems? Immune system? Stress, "junk food" and other things cause our body's healthy functions to be compromised. When the are, our body system does not shut down, meaning our immune systems surely have a large state space. Our cells are self-organizing, and someone with more medical experience than myself can probably figure out in what ways certain viruses cause different levels of resiliency? How does this work for a person infected with AIDS?
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting to think about this example, too. I have a question. Does this system be controlled by something? I think children have little ability to control their conditions of bodies because they have less knowledge and less experience than adults. Adults sometimes cannot control their bodies well, even though they can expect what would happen to their bodies later. I sometimes stay up late or drink alchohol too much, even though I know that I would be sick next morning.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Glen Waddell, our last speaker this term from economics, would have anything to say about this. Some of his research revolves around what affects young adults' decisions around drug use, for example. Economics in general has as a central interest to what extent people make rational decisions. If their decisions are not rational, what other system(s) is guiding those decisions? Here's his website for a preview: http://www.glenwaddell.com/Day_Job.html
ReplyDeleteI also thought Marina's comments about vitamins and fertilizer and Sara's about AIDS was interesting. Vitamins/fertilizer are meant to help our bodies/soil get nutrients, but when we over-rely on help from 'outside' the system, the system may stop being resilient internally, and we may not even notice this until it's too late. I've heard some people say we should not take vitamins, but instead make sure we're eating the food we need to get those vitamins (I still take vitamins though...)