Why systems work so well

7 important questions on Why systems work so well

What are the three reasons why systems work so well?

1. Resilience
2. Self-organization
3. Hierarcy

What does the book mean with resilience?

The ability to bounce or spring back into shape, position, after being pressed to stretch. It's basically the ability of a system to recover itself, like a human body. Buffers, slack, optimization, reservers are signs of resilience.

What's the difference between static stability and resilience?

Static stability is observable; you can see it. It's measured by the variation in the condition of a system week by week or year by year for example.

Instead, resilience is something you cannot observe, unless you exceed its limits.
  • Higher grades + faster learning
  • Never study anything twice
  • 100% sure, 100% understanding
Discover Study Smart

What does the book mean by self-organization?

The capacity of a system to make its own structure more complex. E.g. Society that invent new things such as DNA, RND and protein molecules. These systems arise from simple rules --> fractal geometry. E.g. Google which gives its employees 20% innovation time.

Why is hierarchy a brilliant system invention?

Because they give a system the stability and resilience.

What is reductionism / partially decomposable (sub)systems?

You can take the subsystems apart with their information. However, you still need to understand the connections between the subsystems to understand the system as a whole.

Which relation is stronger; within subsystems or between subsystems?

Within

The question on the page originate from the summary of the following study material:

  • A unique study and practice tool
  • Never study anything twice again
  • Get the grades you hope for
  • 100% sure, 100% understanding
Remember faster, study better. Scientifically proven.
Trustpilot Logo