4) Systems Thinking with Conceptual Blending Systems thinking involves seeing different topics/areas as systems with their own subsystems, that all inform one large system. Below, the right concepts show systems thinking, whereas the left is more-so typical analytical thinking.
Donella Meadows, the mother of systems thinking, put interconnectedness in a more explicit explanation: “A system is a set of related components that work together in a particular environment to perform whatever functions are required to achieve the systems objective.”
systems thinking encompasses a large and fairly amorphous body of methods, tools, and principles, all oriented to looking at the interrelatedness of forces, and seeing them as part of a common process.
The practice of systems thinking starts with understanding a simple concept called “feedback” that shows how actions can reinforce or counteract (balance) each other. It builds to learning to recognize types of “structures” that recur again and again: