Coevolving Innovations

… in Business Organizations and Information Technologies

Eight infographics from “Systems Thinking 2” (2016)

Concluding 3 intensive weeks of content immersion, eight student groups created infographics of the ideas that resonated with them from the “Systems Thinking 2” class in the Creative Sustainability program at Aalto University.  Each group had been given 3 weeks in advance to prepare content to lead a learning discussion, staking a position on a list of references.  As students participated in the intensive sessions, the broader contexts reshaped those positions into a broader appreciation of the breadth of systems thinking. The initial positions and concluding syntheses were:

  • 1. Appreciative systems, futures → Into the Future with Systems Thinking
  • 2. Boundary, inquiry, perspectives → Systems thinking — synthesis
  • 3. Learning categories, postnormal science, ignorance → Systems Thinking from learning and knowledge making perspective
  • 4. Dialogue, engagement, intervention → Systems thinking from a dialogue perspective
  • 5. Ecosystems, collapse, resilience → What is the purpose of understanding the differentiation between complexity and complicatedness in systems thinking
  • 6. Coevolution, turbulence, anticipatory systems → Anticipatory systems, turbulence and coevolution
  • 7. Living systems, viable systems, metabolism → How to make STEW (Systems Thinking Endless Wisdom)
  • 8. Social-ecological systems, regime shifts → Systems? No problem!

The ending infographics represent a synthesis of the content from the course, each group having traced a different path. To rebalance team sizes, a few individuals migrated to a different group.  Some anchored more on the content they had led, while others chose to strengthen linkages to other ideas.

Into the Future with Systems Thinking

1. Appreciative systems, futures → Into the Future with Systems Thinking

Group 1 read through a cluster of references on appreciative systems and futures and a map of the basic ideas to produce a presentation slide set.

Appreciative systems, futures

The concluding infographic by Fahimeh Foutouhi, Petra Tammisto, Riikka Ikonen, Marta Jaakkola and Anna Muukkonen additionally swept in dialogues, learning, social ecological systems, complex systems and anticipatory systems.

See the Into the Future with Systems Thinking infographic as 900px width or as 600px width.

Systems thinking - synthesis

2. Boundary, inquiry, perspectives → Systems thinking — synthesis

Group 2 worked through a cluster of references on boundary, inquiry and perspectives and a map of the basic ideas to produce a presentation slide set.

Boundary, inquiry, perspectives

The concluding infographic by Miguel Fonseca, Annina Lattu and Jennifer Pitkänen put a higher emphasis on learning (a cluster of references led by Group 3), wrapping in ideas of resilience, turbulence, anticipatory systems on top the content for which they were primarily responsible.

See the Systems thinking — synthesis infographic as 900px width or as 600px width.

Systems Thinking from learning and knowledge making perspective

3. Learning categories, postnormal science, ignorance → Systems Thinking from learning and knowledge making perspective

Group 3 focused on a cluster of references on learning categories, postnormal science and ignorance and a map of the basic ideas to produce a presentation slide set.

Boundary, inquiry and perspectives

The concluding infographic by Emma Berg, Melanie Wolowiec and Lilli Mäkelä added in participation, judgement and anticipation, with larger contexts of cultural systems and biotic systems.  Additionally, they charted a reference timeline of the articles from the course depicting the importance of the content longitudinally.

See the Systems Thinking from learning and knowledge making perspective infographic as 900px width or as 600px width.

Systems thinking from a dialogue perspective

4. Dialogue, engagement, intervention → Systems thinking from a dialogue perspective

Group 4 studied a cluster of references on dialogue, engagement and intervention and a map of the basic ideas to produce a presentation slide set.

Boundary, inquiry and perspectives

The concluding infographic by Caroline Mellberg, Ida-Maria Mannonen, Jukka-Pekka Ovaaksa and Wang Yuchan referred to the earlier discussions on appreciative systems and anticipatory systems, and the later presentations on living sytems, viable systems, turbulence, resilience and collapse.

See the Systems thinking from a dialogue perspective infographic as 900px width or as 600px width.

What is the purpose of understanding the differentiation between complexity and complicatedness in systems thinking

5. Ecosystems, collapse, resilience → What is the purpose of understanding the differentiation between complexity and complicatedness in systems thinking

Group 5 reviewed a cluster of references on ecosystems, collapse and resilience and a map of the basic ideas to produce a presentation slide set.

Ecosystems, collapse, resilience

The concluding infographic by Karolina Hovi, Jutta Menestrina, Ekaterina Perfilyeva and Yuchen Yao focused on the distinction between complexity and complicatedness, with an example of the global fishing market in risks of collapse and regime shifts.

See the What is the purpose of understanding the differentiation between complexity and complicatedness in systems thinking infographic as 900px width or as 600px width.

Anticipatory systems, turbulence and coevolution

6. Coevolution, turbulence, anticipatory systems → Anticipatory systems, turbulence and coevolution

Group 6 worked through a cluster of references on coevolution, turbulence and anticipatory systems and a map of the basic ideas to produce a presentation slide set.

Coevolution, turbulence, anticipatory systems

The concluding infographic by Kim Dau, Oona Anttila, Norbert Schmidt and Simone Menge extended the swing dancing example in their presentation to include turbulent fields, anticipatory systems, boundary, collapse and ignorance, complex systems, learning and coevolution.

See the Anticipatory systems, turbulence and coevolution infographic as 900px width or as 600px width.

How to make STEW (Systems Thinking Endless Wisdom)

7. Living systems, viable systems, metabolism → How to make STEW (Systems Thinking Endless Wisdom)

Group 7 studied a cluster of references on living systems, viable systems and metabolism and a map of the basic ideas to produce a presentation slide set.

Living systems, viable systems, metabolism

The concluding infographic by Christine Everaars, Linda Lazarov, Maria Mercer and Noomi Schulman reflected on all of the content for the class, and presented it as a stew that cooked over multiple days.

See the How to make STEW (Systems Thinking Endless Wisdom) infographic as 900px width or as 600px width.

Systems? No problem!

8. Social-ecological systems, regime shifts → Systems? No problem!

Group 8 reviewed a cluster of references on social-ecological systems and regime shifts and a map of the basic ideas to produce a presentation slide set.

Social-ecological systems, regime shifts

The concluding infographic by Heini Huotari, Daniele Fasoli, Soroush Moradi, Kristaps Sveisbergs and Song Ping complemented their presentation with anticipatory systems, learning, and resilience.

See the Systems? No problem! infographic as 900px width or as 600px width.

This course on systems thinking recognized the variety of backgrounds across disciplines within student groups, and that their journeys through the content would be different.  The infographics completed at the end of the class show that there isn’t a single way to approach systems thinking, and that diversity in thought is part of the learning.

1 Comment


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • RSS qoto.org/@daviding (Mastodon)

    • daviding: “Hosting multiple Dialogic Drinks on "From Unfreezing-Refreez…” March 8, 2024
      Hosting multiple Dialogic Drinks on "From Unfreezing-Refreezing, to Systems Changes Learning" online, March 12 (Europe), March 14 (Americas), March 15 (Australia). #Leadership meets #SystemsThinking . Short presentations, longer discussions https://www.eqlab.co/from-unfreezing-refreezing-to-systems-changes-learning-david-ing
    • daviding: “"Climate change has no map that we know of. Each time a new…” February 15, 2024
      "Climate change has no map that we know of. Each time a new scientific study returns something we studied before, it's always going to arrive faster and be worse than we thought before". Episode 5, #DavidLHawk "What to do When It's too Late" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPruvIsDRDk #SystemsThinking "Instead of cause-effect thinking, effects coming from prior effects, not […]
    • daviding: “In the third episode of "What to Do When It's Too Late", #Da…” February 2, 2024
      In the third episode of "What to Do When It's Too Late", #DavidLHawk explains his #systemsthinking with humans in #climatechange, dealing with hopelessness. Live weekly broadcast on #BoldBraveTv with video recordings and podcasts. Text digest at https://daviding.wordpress.com/2024/02/02/what-to-do-when-its-too-late-david-l-hawk-2024/
    • daviding: “Published "Reframing #SystemsThinking for Systems Changes: S…” February 2, 2024
      Published "Reframing #SystemsThinking for Systems Changes: Sciencing and Philosophizing from Pragmatism towards Processes as Rhythms" with #GarySMetcalf in Journal of the #InternationalSocietyForTheSystemsSciences following 2023 Kruger Park, revised after peer review. https://coevolving.com/blogs/index.php/archive/sciencing-philosophizing-jisss/
    • daviding: “Web video of @scottdejong@hci.social + @gceh@mstdn.social ho…” January 23, 2024
      Web video of @scottdejong + @gceh hosted by #zaidkhan in relaxed conversation on "What Can Systems Thinkers Learn from Educational Game Studies" at #SystemsThinking Ontario https://coevolving.com/blogs/index.php/archive/educational-game-studies-scott-dejong-geoff-evamy-hil/
  • RSS on IngBrief

    • Introduction, “Systems Thinking: Selected Readings, volume 2”, edited by F. E. Emery (1981)
      The selection of readings in the “Introduction” to Systems Thinking: Selected Readings, volume 2, Penguin (1981), edited by Fred E. Emery, reflects a turn from 1969 when a general systems theory was more fully entertained, towards an urgency towards changes in the world that were present in 1981. Systems thinking was again emphasized in contrast […]
    • Introduction, “Systems Thinking: Selected Readings”, edited by F. E. Emery (1969)
      In reviewing the original introduction for Systems Thinking: Selected Readings in the 1969 Penguin paperback, there’s a few threads that I only recognize, many years later. The tables of contents (disambiguating various editions) were previously listed as 1969, 1981 Emery, System Thinking: Selected Readings. — begin paste — Introduction In the selection of papers for this […]
    • Concerns with the way systems thinking is used in evaluation | Michael C. Jackson, OBE | 2023-02-27
      In a recording of the debate between Michael Quinn Patton and Michael C. Jackson on “Systems Concepts in Evaluation”, Patton referenced four concepts published in the “Principles for effective use of systems thinking in evaluation” (2018) by the Systems in Evaluation Topical Interest Group (SETIG) of the American Evaluation Society. The four concepts are: (i) […]
    • Quality Criteria for Action Research | Herr, Anderson (2015)
      How might the quality of an action research initiative be evaluated? — begin paste — We have linked our five validity criteria (outcome, process, democratic, catalytic, and dialogic) to the goals of action research. Most traditions of action research agree on the following goals: (a) the generation of new knowledge, (b) the achievement of action-oriented […]
    • Western Union and the canton of Ticino, Switzerland
      After 90 minutes on phone and online chat with WesternUnion, the existence of the canton of Ticino in Switzerland is denied, so I can’t send money from Canada. TicinoTurismo should be unhappy. The IT developers at Western Union should be dissatisfied that customer support agents aren’t sending them legitimate bug reports I initially tried the […]
    • Aesthetics | Encyclopaedia Britannica | 15 edition
      Stephen C. Pepper was a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th edition, on the entry for Aesthetics.
  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • RSS on daviding.com

    • 2024/02 Moments February 2024
      Chinese New Year celebrations, both public and family, extended over two weekends, due to busy social schedules.
    • 2024/01 Moments January 2024
      Hibernated with work for most of January, with more activity towards the end of month with warmer termperatures.
    • 2023/12 Moments December 2023
      A month of birthdays and family holiday events, with seasonal events at attractuions around town.
    • 2023/11 Moments November 2023
      Dayliight hours getting shorter encouraged more indoor events, unanticipated cracked furnace block led to replacement of air conditioner with heat pump, too.
    • 2023/10 Moments October 2023
      Left Seoul for 8 days in Ho Chi Minh City, and then 7 days in Taipei. Extended family time with sightseeing, almost completely offline from work.
    • 2023/09 Moments September 2023
      Toronto International Film Festival, and the first stop of a 3-week trip to Asia starting with Seoul, Korea
  • RSS on Media Queue

    • What to Do When It’s Too Late | David L. Hawk | 2024
      David L. Hawk (American management theorist, architect, and systems scientist) has been hosting a weekly television show broadcast on Bold Brave Tv from the New York area on Wednesdays 6pm ET, remotely from his home in Iowa. Live, callers can join…Read more ›
    • 2021/06/17 Keekok Lee | Philosophy of Chinese Medicine 2
      Following the first day lecture on Philosophy of Chinese Medicine 1 for the Global University for Sustainability, Keekok Lee continued on a second day on some topics: * Anatomy as structure; physiology as function (and process); * Process ontology, and thing ontology; * Qi ju as qi-in-concentrating mode, and qi san as qi-in-dissipsating mode; and […]
    • 2021/06/16 Keekok Lee | Philosophy of Chinese Medicine 1
      The philosophy of science underlying Classical Chinese Medicine, in this lecture by Keekok Lee, provides insights into ways in which systems change may be approached, in a process ontology in contrast to the thing ontology underlying Western BioMedicine. Read more ›
    • 2021/02/02 To Understand This Era, You Need to Think in Systems | Zeynep Tufekci with Ezra Klein | New York Times
      In conversation, @zeynep with @ezraklein reveal authentic #SystemsThinking in (i) appreciating that “science” is constructed by human collectives, (ii) the west orients towards individual outcomes rather than population levels; and (iii) there’s an over-emphasis on problems of the moment, and…Read more ›
    • 2019/04/09 Art as a discipline of inquiry | Tim Ingold (web video)
      In the question-answer period after the lecture, #TimIngold proposes art as a discipline of inquiry, rather than ethnography. This refers to his thinking On Human Correspondence. — begin paste — [75m26s question] I am curious to know what art, or…Read more ›
    • 2019/10/16 | “Bubbles, Golden Ages, and Tech Revolutions” | Carlota Perez
      How might our society show value for the long term, over the short term? Could we think about taxation over time, asks @carlotaprzperez in an interview: 92% for 1 day; 80% within 1 month; 50%-60% tax for 1 year; zero tax for 10 years.Read more ›
  • Meta

  • Creative Commons License
    This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License
    Theme modified from DevDmBootstrap4 by Danny Machal