Systemantics. The Systems Bible

COMPLEX SYSTEMS EXHIBIT UNEXPECTED BEHAVIOR One is merely a pessimistic feeling; the other conveys the exhilaration that accompanies recognition of a Law of Nature. Because of its fundamental importance for all that follows, we have termed this Law the Generalized Uncertainty Principle.

Systems are like babies: once you get one, you have it.[a.] They don’t go away. On the contrary, they display the most remarkable persistence. They not only persist; they grow. And as they grow, they encroach. The growth potential of Systems was explored in a tentative, preliminary way by Parkinson, who concluded that Administrative Systems maintai

Briefly, Catalytic Managership is based on the premise that trying to make something happen is too ambitious and usually fails, resulting in a great deal of wasted effort and lowered morale. On the other hand, it is sometimes possible to remove obstacles in the way of something happening. A great deal may then occur with little effort on the part o

Such cycles may be found everywhere, wherever Systems exist. In Fashion, skirts go up and down, neckties become wider or thinner. In Politics, the mood of the nation swings Left or Right. Sunspots advance or retreat. Economic indicators rise or decline. The pragmatic Systems-student neither exhorts nor deplores, but merely notes the waste of energy

we present the following Functional Indeterminacy Theorem (F.I.T.): IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS, MALFUNCTION AND EVEN TOTAL NON-FUNCTION MAY NOT BE DETECTABLE FOR LONG PERIODS, IF EVER

the very first principle of Systems-design is a negative one: DO IT WITHOUT A NEW SYSTEM IF YOU CAN The scholar will recognize this as Occam’s Razor in modern form: AVOID UNNECESSARY SYSTEMS (SYSTEMS SHOULD NOT BE MULTIPLIED UNNECESSARILY) Two immediate Corollaries, with significant implications for Management, are as follows: (I) DO IT WITH AN EXI

This marvelous Theorem, grasped in a once-in-a-lifetime flash of intuition by Tom Rohe of Bremerton, Washington[xli], will serve as our introduction to the grim topic of Systems-exploitation: DESIGNERS OF SYSTEMS TEND TO DESIGN WAYS FOR THEMSELVES TO BYPASS THE SYSTEM We pause only briefly to validate it with a well-known example from Government: E

“Knowledge is power,” wrote Francis Bacon. But Bacon’s vast knowledge did not keep him from taking bribes and falling into disgrace. Clearly, Bacon’s knowledge did not have the power to save him from himself.[a.] What Bacon overlooked, we now make explicit: Knowledge is useful in the service of an appropriate Model of the Universe[b.] , and not oth

THE FUNCTION (OR PRODUCT) IS DEFINED BY THE SYSTEMS- OPERATIONS THAT OCCUR IN ITS PERFORMANCE OR MANUFACTURE The importance of Korzybski’s contribution to understanding Systems is now apparent. An Apple that has been processed through the supermarket System is not the same as an apple picked right off the tree, and we are in error to use the same w