Systemantics. The Systems Bible

Salvation, if it is attainable at all, even partially, is to be sought in a deeper understanding of the ways of all Systems, not simply in a criticism of the errors of a particular System.

Preface to the Third Edition

But however timely feedback may be, it has intrinsic limitations. It cannot predict the future. FEEDBACK ALWAYS GIVES A PICTURE OF THE PAST

IF YOU’RE NOT THERE, THE ACCIDENT CAN HAPPEN WITHOUT YOU

For most of us, however, the Decay Rate of Information remains merely an interesting abstraction, for our efforts at Coping are limited by an even more drastic law, the Inaccessibility Theorem:[lxxxvi] THE INFORMATION YOU HAVE IS NOT THE INFORMATION YOU WANT. THE INFORMATION YOU WANT IS NOT THE INFORMATION YOU NEED. THE INFORMATION YOU NEED IS NOT

We shall begin by noting that Mankind, in its long history of grappling with Problems, has until recently failed to take sufficient time out to work on the larger problem—the meta-problem—of How To Solve Problems.

Problem Avoidance is in fact the most elegant form of Problem-solving, since it actively and responsibly avoids the entire Meta-problem of Dealing With the Problem. Furthermore, since many of the world’s biggest problems involve dealing with the wreckage of old failed Solutions cluttering the landscape, Problem Avoidance has the additional merit of

the particular attributes that a given System fosters can only rarely be correctly inferred in advance; the actual situation is likely to contain surprises. And such attributes are not necessarily the attributes required for successful operation of the System itself; e.g., the qualities necessary for being elected President are not the qualities ne

Charles Darwin made it a rule to write down immediately any observation or argument that seemed to run counter to his theories. He had noticed that we humans tend to forget inconvenient facts, and if special notice is not taken of them, they simply fade out of awareness. Therefore, urged Darwin: CHERISH YOUR EXCEPTIONS Along similar lines, we propo