Posted by Prac on June 07, 2004 at 12:38:09:

In Reply to: Re: systems thinking and the learning organisation posted by Barry on June 05, 2004 at 20:34:34:

Hi Barry

You wrote: "Global Warming is a great example of something that CAN'T be solved by taking it apart into components."

With all due respect, I beg to differ. Not even having studied climatology, I could roughly produce systems components, which would support a level of understanding of global warming.

On the hand of common knowledge, consider 'Sea Temperature', 'The ozone layer', 'The salinity of the sea', 'Effects of radiation', 'Known weather patterns', 'Unknown weather patterns', and so on.

These elements are all potential components of a climatic context, or system. I am not vouching for its correctness though, merely pointing out how a systems-approach could potentially relate to evolving an understanding about global warming.

If scientific phenomena could not be understood, why bother studying at all? I think that it is the very essence of systems thinking, which gives rise to the confidence to analyse and understand, and hence progress in knowledge.

How would you otherwise propose we understand scientific phenomena?

Best regards,

Rob

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