Waubonsee Community College

An introduction to general systems thinking, Gerald M. Weinberg

eng

Includes bibliographical references and indexes

index present

non fiction

An introduction to general systems thinking

bibliography

1095069

Gerald M. Weinberg

1. The problem -- The complexity of the world -- Mechanism and mechanics -- The square law of computation -- The simplification of science and the science of simplification -- Statistical mechanics and the law of large numbers -- The law of medium numbers -- 2: The approach -- Organism, analogy, and vitalism -- The scientist and his categories -- The main article of general systems faith -- The nature of general systems laws -- Varieties of systems thinking -- 3: System and illusion -- A system is a way of looking at the world -- Absolute and relative thinking -- A system is a set -- Observers and observations -- The principle of indifference -- Chapter 4: Interpreting observations -- States -- The eye-brain law -- The generalized thermodynamic law -- Functional notation and reductionist thought -- Incompleteness and overcompleteness -- The generalized law of complemnentarity -- 5: Breaking down observations -- The metaphors of science -- Boundaries and things -- Qualities and the principle of invariance -- Partitions -- The strong connection law -- 6: Describing behavior -- Simulation--The white box -- State spaces -- Time as a standard of behavior -- Behavior in open systems -- The principle of indeterminability -- 7: Some systems questions -- The systems triumvirate -- Stability -- Survival -- Identity -- Regulation and adaptation -- The used car law