It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out nor more doubtful of success nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things; for the reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order; this lukewarmness arising partly... See more

Local optimization hurt the whole

If you focus on a part of the system and ignore the whole system, bad things tend to happen. A body builder optimizes accelerates muscle growth and negatively impacting the other organs ultimately impacting the systems very purpose.

A young gamer over clocks their new computer so it can go faster which will raise... See more

Key Idea: Systems are usually contained within systems.

Key idea: none of the parts have can fulfill the purpose the system.

Example 3: A planet is a system containing many systems the purpose of which is to maintain life.

Key idea: the connections are as important as the parts.

Example 2: A human is a system that is made of many connected parts (heart, lung, veins) and the primary purpose is life.

“None of the parts live, only you live. That is easily provable, cut off your hand and see what it does” Russ Ackoff.