Systems Thinking Quotes

Before the 1940s the terms "system" and "systems thinking" had been used by several scientists, but it was Bertalanffy's concepts of an open system and a general systems theory that established systems thinking as a major scientific movement ~ Fritjof Capra

[ ... ] most of the problems faced by humankind concerns [concerned] our inability to grasp and manage the increasingly complex systems of our world. ~ Peter M. Senge

Systems thinking is "contextual," which is the opposite of analytical thinking. Analysis means taking something apart in order to understand it; systems thinking means putting it into the context of a larger whole. ~ Fritjof Capra

Meanwhile, the self can stand in the way of the Not-Self, interfering with the free flow of spiritual grace, this maintaining the self in a state of blindness, and also with the flow of animal grace, which leads to the impairment of natural functions and, in the long run, of the slower processes called structure. For each individual human being, the main practical problems are these: How can I prevent my ego from eclipsing the inner light, synteresis, scintilla animae, and so perpetuating the state of unregenerate illusion and blindness? And these practical problems remain unchallenged, even if we abandon the notion of an entelechy or physiological intelligencer, of an atman or pneuma and think, instead, in terms [of] systems... ~ Aldous Huxley

In a broader sense, Systems Thinking is a path to greater awareness. ~ Pearl Zhu

Throughout the living world, we find living systems nesting within other living systems. ~ Fritjof Capra

In Systems Thinking, the true wisdom often comes from a willingness to let go of past learning. ~ Pearl Zhu

Systems Thinkers shape a worldview based on the realization of interconnectedness. ~ Pearl Zhu

The chain is only as strong as its weakest link, for if that fails the chain fails and the object that it has been holding up falls to the ground. ~ Thomas Reid

We have minds that are equipped for certainty, linearity and short-term decisions, that must instead make long-term decisions in a non-linear, probabilistic world. ~ Paul Gibbons

Systems Thinking provides the more holistic way to view the problems ~ Pearl Zhu

From a cognitive perspective, Systems Thinking integrates analysis and synthesis. ~ Pearl Zhu

In systems thinking, increases in understanding are believed to be obtainable by expanding the systems to be understood, not by reducing them to their elements. Understanding proceeds from the whole to its parts, not from the parts to the whole as knowledge does. ~ Russell L. Ackoff

Systems thinking is a state of mind. Once you have this state of mind, you realize how each part of your business flows into the other. ~ Lisa A. Mininni

Design is a form of competitive advantage. People tend to think of design as good art, good visual language, which it absolutely has to be. But it's also about the ability to do systems thinking. ~ James P Hackett

[ ... ] vision without systems thinking ends up painting lovely pictures of the future with no deep understanding of the forces that must be mastered to move from here to there. ~ Peter M. Senge

I think there were moments on Snow White where I wished there was a little bit more of a sick humor toward Ravenna. But maybe the tone of the movie couldn't really support that. So you always have to kind of figure out where you are and adapt to it. ~ Kristen Stewart

When I think of the flag ... I see alternate strips of parchment upon which are written the rights of liberty and justice, and stripes of blood to vindicate those rights, and then, in the corner, a prediction of the blue serene into which every nation may swim which stands for these great things. ~ Woodrow Wilson

It's hard work, writing, you know. Honestly, a fight every day against your own limitations. You have to squeeze books out of your brain, you're constantly trying to solve challenges. I think most writers enjoy the feeling of having written something, rather than the process of writing it. ~ Carlos Ruiz Zafon

There's something I find highly embarrassing about it. As soon as I think I've written something smart, the next day I've got nausea, thinking, "Don't even try to be smart, it's absurd." ~ Lou Doillon

Of all the systems - if indeed a bundle of contradictions and absurdities may be called a system - which human nature in its moments of intoxication has produced, that which men have contrived with a view to forming the minds and regulating the conduct of women, is perhaps the most completely absurd. ~ Mary Hays

I think there is a tendency for people to get rigid and caught up in their beliefs of what is right and wrong, and they lose sight of humanity. Being human has to come first before right or wrong. ~ Matisyahu

I think his development has been lightning quick because of his God-given talent. He has great aptitude and he's been able to develop very fast in front of our eyes at every level. ~ Brian Sabean

Theology is like a map. Merely learning and thinking about the Christian doctrines, if you stop there, is less real and less exciting than the sort of thing my friend got in the desert. Doctrines are not God: they are only a kind of map. But that map is based on the experience of hundreds of people who really were in touch with God
experiences compared with which many thrills of pious feelings you and I are likely to get on our own are very elementary and very confused. And secondly, if you want to get any further you must use the map. ~ C.S. Lewis

I think I like playing the bad girl. I like complicated. I like flawed, messed up complicated. It's more interesting. ~ Kate Beckinsale

The Lilith Fair thing was Bummer Town - hey, hop aboard the marginalizing train. I guess you had people come out of that and have careers, but I think there was a pretty intense backlash, too. ~ St. Vincent

I think my work comes out of both an intense desire for connection and what it means to feel isolated. There's always going to be a kind of tidal movement back and forth between the two. ~ Adrienne Rich

I think, as a general matter, clearly, the United States globally supports the development of democracy and the democratic yearnings of all people. ~ Richard Armitage

I'm not surprised that Governor Dean would oppose [the $87 billion to fund Iraq reconstruction] ... I've lost confidence that he has any understanding of the national security responsibilities of a President ... [b]ecause I don't believe that he has any understanding of the international role that the United States has to play in the world. I think it's a kind of a pseudo-isolationism that appeals to the base of the caucus voters. I do not believe that particularly in the case of Iraq that Governor Dean has any fundamental understanding of what's at stake here. ~ John McCain

I don't think the meaning in my paintings comes from just using broken dishes. ~ Julian Schnabel

The beer came and I said, "Joe, I'm thinking that there is something larger here than an attorney's zealous defense of his client." The master of understatement. ~ Robert Crais

Fashion brings out what you are inside. A lot of people think it's got to be blue jeans, a Black coat, three inch heels. But it doesn't have to be like that. I enjoy just going for it ~ Nicola Roberts

I tend to keep my private life private. I think it's important to have mystique. It's important to keep people thinking and guessing, and you want everyone to think you're singing to them. ~ Joan Jett

there was a new feature in Pierre which won him the favor of all people: this was the recognition of the possibility for each person of thinking, feeling, and looking at things in his own way; the recognition of the impossibility of changing a person's opinion with words. This legitimate peculiarity of each person, which formerly had troubled and irritated Pierre, now constituted the basis of the sympathy and interest he took in people. ~ Leo Tolstoy

A lot of people think that Christianity is you doing all the righteous things you hate and avoiding all the wicked things you love in order to go to Heaven. No, that's a lost man with religion. A Christian is a person whose heart has been changed; they have new affections. ~ Paul Washer

I think now we're seeing the pendulum switch back to this idea where conversations are more important, if not more important than documents. ~ Khoi Vinh

We are often moved with passion and think it to be zeal. ~ Thomas A Kempis

Tears, idle tears, I know not what they mean, Tears from the depths of some devine despair Rise in the heart, and gather to the eyes, In looking on the happy autumn fields, And thinking of the days that are no more. ~ Alfred Lord Tennyson

I think I have become a better writer since having children. It improves creativity, particularly because once you have children it makes you realise the story isn't about you. ~ Louise Doughty

Roses are read, violets are blue; I'm using my hand, but I'm thinking of you. ~ L.A. Casey

Happiness is always a choice. You can't wait for circumstances to get better. You have to create your own good fortune. So look for ways to be happy every day. ~ Joel Osteen

I always try to write from memory, and I always try to use memory as an editor. So when I'm thinking of something like a relationship or whatever, then I'm letting my memory tell me what the important things were. ~ Jeffrey Brown

The key to enlightenment lies in a secret that very few people have ever known, but which Jesus knew well. The way you will experience and feel about yourself is not determined by how other people look at and think about you. ~ Gary Renard

Within a week, I knew the subway systems, ~ Kristan Higgins

I think politicians know how to misrepresent data in order to support a political agenda. Politicians and the people that work for them - I should say - are expert at that. ~ Seth Gordon

Love does not ask many questions, because with thinking comes fear. This might be the fear of being scorned, of being rejected, or of breaking the spell. However ridiculous this may seem, that is how it is. This is why one does not ask, one acts. ~ Paulo Coelho