Do Systems Exist?

1/5 Saying systems don’t exist but as mental constructs is about negating an ontological and objective existence of “systems”.@SystemsNinja #SecondOrder #Cybernetics #vonFoerster #SystemsThinking

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) February 12, 2020

Heinz von Foerster, Master Storyteller!

#vonFoerster #Cybernetics
Posted with no additional comments. pic.twitter.com/sfmqMytMx9

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) February 12, 2020

My humble take on von Foerster’s Aesthetic Imperative:

1/2 Von Foerster’s aesthetic imperative says – “if you want to SEE, learn how to act.”

My humble take on this is – “if you want to SHOW, learn how to act.”#Cybernetics

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) February 10, 2020

Wittgenstein’s Ruler and Models:

Wittgenstein’s ruler and models:

Do we use the model to judge the world or do we use the world to judge the model? #Constructivism #Cybernetics

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) February 8, 2020

The Whole is NOT greater than the sum of its parts:

From Cybernetics standpoint, the Whole is DIFFERENT than the sum of its parts. 🤔

Example – Paraphrasing Morin, the autonomy of the whole is less than the sum of autonomies of the parts. #SystemsThinking #Cybernetics

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) January 10, 2020

Autonomy, what’s the big deal?

“if we do not stipulate autonomy, observation is not an act of interaction or something like that, observation would just be a transducer kind of an idea, the concept of observation will not appear, only the concept of a transducer, a recorder.” -von Foerster #cybernetics

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) February 6, 2020

Teaching from a Cybernetics standpoint:

Teaching should be a non-zero sum activity. Similar to the aphorism- “if the student hasn’t learned, then the teacher hasn’t taught”, I say – “If the teacher hasn’t learned, then the teacher hasn’t taught.” #Cybernetics

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) February 5, 2020

My favorite translation of von Foerster’s Ethical Imperative:

1/2 “Always act in ways that create new possibilities (for you and for others).” I like this translation of Heinz von Foerster’s ethical imperative a lot. My addition in parantheses. #cybernetics #systemsthinking #constructivism

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) February 4, 2020

The map IS the territory! Another von Foerster Gem:

1/2 Did I mention, I am a big fan of von Foerster?: #Cybernetics #SystemsThinking #Constructivism

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I am glad that you are all seated, for now comes the Heinz von Foerster theorem: ‚The map is the territory’ because we don’t have anything else but maps.

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) February 2, 2020

Carlo Rovelli, the Systems Thinker!

“every one of us identifies with a point of view in the world. The world is reflected in each one of us through a rich spectrum of correlations essential for our survival…#SystemsThinking #Cybernetics

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) January 29, 2020

Another von Foerster gem:

Another Heinz von Foerster gem:

Heinz’s favorite example for undecidable questions is the following: “Am I apart from the universe or am I a part of the universe?”.
(Bröcker, 2004)#objectivity #cybernetics #systemsthinking #constructivism

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) January 28, 2020

Heinz von Foerster’s Therapeutic Imperative:

One of von Foerster’s imperatives that aligns with wu wei is his therapeutic imperative – “If you want to be yourself, change!”

Wu Wei at the Gemba. #Cybernetics https://t.co/IORPfdMRLH

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) January 27, 2020

Umpleby on Ashby’s Epistemology:

1/3 Umpleby on Ashby’s epistemology. ‘What is observed, he called the “machine.” For Ashby, “the system” is an internal conception of “the machine.” A “system” is a set of variables selected by an observer.’ #SystemsThinking #Cybernetics

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) January 26, 2020

There are no such things as self-organizing systems!

“There are no such things as self-organizing systems!”
Another von Foerster gem. #Cybernetics #SystemsThinking

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) January 25, 2020

What are systems again?

#SystemsThinking #Cybernetics “A system is a result of a look at a collection of stipulated elements. Stipulated in that I say which elements I will look at. Collection because I stipulate that these elements I have decided to look are not yet ordered,

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) January 23, 2020

Systems thinking is fundamentally based on a spatial metaphor:

1/4 Wonderful Insights from Ralph Stacey:

“Systems thinking is fundamentally based on a spatial metaphor.”

When we talk about society, we cannot actually say that it exists somewhere in space. #SystemsThinking #Cybernetics

— Harish Jose (@harish_josev) January 21, 2020

If you enjoyed these, please follow me on Twitter. https://twitter.com/harish_josev

In case you missed it, my last post was Wu Wei at the Gemba: