Chapter One – Systems 1 (intro)
Systems are everywhere. We are biological systems (humans) made up of many levels of smaller biological systems (such as organs and cells), which are themselves basically made up of smaller systems (atoms). All the individuals of our species make up a larger level system of humanity, which is part of an even larger level system known as life. Even this universe we inhabit can be viewed in terms of systems – after all we live in a solar system. Looking at the many ‘levels’ of systems, we can see that systems within these levels interact with other systems of the same level (cells interact with cells, humans interact with humans, etc). We can also see that there are relationships between the systems on various levels, such as the relationships of certain atoms which make up certain cells, which make up the system of your body.
A system is made up of individual parts, these give us the boundary of the system. What parts we include in our system depends on what system we choose to look at. If we look at a cell we will include such parts as cell wall, membrane, nucleus, etc. While if we look at a human body we might include a couple of levels of systems in our overall system called ‘human body’; such the organ systems which make up our body, and the individual cell systems which make them up, or even the information processing system interfacing the body with the rest of universal existence. While the individual parts give us the boundary of a system this is only half of the story, because the real defining aspect of a system is its function – which is the interaction of the individual parts (which gives rise to processing).
By observing the interaction of parts we find the function of the system (how/with what the parts interact – the quantity and quality of interaction). The function of a system comes from the nature of exchange between the parts, and what is exchanged is some form of matter/energy (information). So the nature of exchange within a system is to do with the form of matter/energy (information) which is being processed (exchanged) by the individuals which make up the system. By looking at the nature of exchange, the form of matter/energy (information) received and processed, as well as knowing the individual parts (what they need to function), we can gain knowledge of the relative health (endurance) of that system.
Cause and effect is a universal principle, and so because a system process (a cause) there must be reactions (effects). Which is great for us because we can look at the reactions a system produces to give us an idea of its ability to endure (relative health) – such as the stomach ache after eating that new food, or the distinctive (and new) clunking sound coming from the engine of your car.
So systems are pretty simple really. They are made up of individual parts (the boundary of the system), and the parts interact (communicate) in a specific way (the function of the system). The way the parts of the system interact is the processing of the system; and to process the parts must receive something (matter/energy – information), and they produce reactions (such as an engine receiving fuel and a spark, processing through the physical interaction of the various parts, to produce the reaction of rotational energy to move the car).
Understanding systems is great, and handy, because it helps us analyse the ability of systems to endure (their relative health), and to make changes to improve endurance. This is enhanced the more we learn about the particular system – because by understanding how the system processes, we not only learn what to put into the system, we also learn what types of reaction the system should be producing (and with more knowledge, we can know what parts of the system need changing/improvement from the types of reactions produced – like the seasoned mechanic who can tell exactly what is wrong with an engine, and what needs to be changed, just from listening to it).