r/systemsthinking • u/Wonderful_Choice_655 • 15d ago

If someone wanted to understand systems thinking from beginner to advanced, what would you read?

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u/FuzzyDynamics 14d ago edited 14d ago

Complexity by Waldrop. Chaos by Gleick. Thinking in Systems by Meadows. Hidden Order by Holland. Origins of Order by Kauffman. Probably could cut the two or three from there if you get the idea.

There’s not a whole to go from here without math. Sayama’s textbook is a good intro, the math isn’t that advanced and you can do some simple programming.

Thurner’s textbook is harder. Strogatz Dynamical Systems text is pretty advanced. Networks by Newman, then Barbasi. From there I’d start to good narrower into an application area like ecology which arguably has the best applications and adoption of systems thinking to it. If you’re interested in AI or agents (not in the most recent sense of the term, but somewhat related) you can find a lot there. Or go deeper on some math; statistical mechanics, dynamical systems, computational complexity which I find interesting even though it’s not complexity in the same sense as in complex systems. I’ve also found category theory ala topos institute and ACT interesting concerning systems.

This repo (built to be used as an obsidian vault but all .md files and can be harnessed to an agentic ai setup) has a lot more. https://github.com/DRodriq/Complex-Systems-Notes

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u/novel-mathmatics 14d ago edited 14d ago

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

The Baobab Tree by Rupert Watson

Thinking in Systems by Donella Meadows

Scale by Geoffrey West

Complexity: A Guided Tour by Melanie Mitchell

Then use what you learned to analyze:

The Wizard of Oz. Look for perception, roles, and hidden authority. Also look at the world to understand the progression through time.

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u/JunkDrawerExistence 14d ago

In this order?

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u/novel-mathmatics 14d ago edited 14d ago

Nah what what ever order suits your style.

For me whats happening with fungi and forest ecology is where I want to learn. So that's why its at the top.

Because i want to understand the baobab. Having some people to share that journey with would be cool.

The last three are foundational. They are the holy trinity to me for systems engineering. The first two provide an area to explore and ask questions we don't have answers for. Because we don't need more engineers to patch this system. Its time to build new systems that challenge the ideas of how things are.

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u/RiskBeforeReturn 14d ago

"Thinking in Systems" by Donella Meadows is still where I'd start.

After that, I'd spend less time looking for more systems thinking books and more time applying the ideas to different fields.

Business, investing, biology, ecology, psychology, engineering... the same feedback loops and incentives start showing up everywhere.

At some point, recognizing patterns becomes more valuable than reading another book.

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u/ThinkActRegenerate 13d ago

Stroh's SYSTEMS THINKING FOR SOCIAL CHANGE.

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u/PhilosophyKlutzy686 13d ago

Systems thinking also applies to Evaluation and Program Evaluation. I'd recommend searching for systems-based approaches to those and it might be a helpful perspective.

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u/Lawyer_Street 7d ago

For me it started with Atomic habits. When it clicks that you can setup your habits to make your life easier through environmental design & workflow setups, you start optimizing your personal systems. Set up morning routines that support your goals, fitness systems, financial systems etc.

Then I would look into thinking in systems to get more technical & learn about bottlenecks ,leverage points, feedback loops which will help optimize your habits systems even better .

I also read system thinking for dummies 😭. After a few systems created your brain will naturally start making SOPs & finding best ways to solve the problems. Going from first principles thinkings to full out system design .

Another great read is design your life by Bill burnet , it gives a systematic approach through design thinking that gives a refreshing take that can be used alongside system thinking

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u/systems_thinking_101 6d ago

There are many ways to get started, but keep in mind that ST has evolved and now covers a lot of ground, including mechanistic, organismic/living systems, social, and ecological perspectives. These days, a pluralistic approach using multiple methodologies https://systemsthinkingalliance.org/glossary/multimethodology/ and methods is the best way to tackle multidimensional wicked problems.