The Systems Bible
豆瓣
The Beginner's Guide to Systems Large and Small, 3rd ed of Systemantics
Gall, John
简介
The Indispensable Handbook of Systems-behavior, written specifically for all of us who must daily cope with the Pitfalls, Foibles, and Failures of the Systems that make up our Modern World.
GENERAL SYSTEMANTICS PRESS of Walker, Minnesota is proud to announce the revised and much enlarged THIRD Edition of SYSTEMANTICS, THE UNDERGROUND TEXT OF SYSTEMS LORE. Sixteen years in preparation, this THIRD Edition includes a new Preface, three new chapters, new AXIOMS, THEOREMS AND RULES OF THUMB, and many new Horrible Examples, for a total of 40 chapters covering the entire field from the PRIMAL SCENARIO to the FAIL-SAFE THEOREM and including the celebrated
definition of GARBAGE that is fundamental to any real understanding of SYSTEMANTICS.
The FIRST EDITION of SYSTEMANTICS was “highly recommended” by the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science Books and Films and has since been translated into Spanish, German, Hebrew, and Japanese.
The SECOND EDITION WAS favorably reviewed in the Whole Earth Catalogue by Kevin Kelly: “The author is having fun with a serious subject. . . insights come in the form of marvelously succinct rules of thumb, in the spirit of Murphy’s Law and the Peter Principle.” And Computer Book Review remarks, “From ‘Function-and-Failure’ to ‘Management and Other Myths’, here’s a collection of witty observations. . . grown into mature rules of thumb.
contents
Acknowledgments
Preface to the Frist Edition
Preface to the Second Edition
Preface to the Third Edition
Introduction Paradox Lost and Found, Diensions of Problem
History Overview
PART ONE : BASIC THEORY
A.THE MYSTERIOUS WAYS OF SYSTEMS
1.First principles
2.Law of growth
3.The generalized uncertainty principle
4.A.B.C. Disaster (feedback)
5.The power of positive feedback : a warning
6.What next? : (the life cycle of systems)
B.INSIDE AND OUTSIDE:
7.The grand illusion
8.Inside systems
9.Delusion systems versus systems-delusions
10.Systems-people
C.FUNCTION AND FAILURE
11.Elementary systems functions
12.Advanced systems functions
13.The system knows (system goals)
14.Systems failure (theory of errors)
15.Glitches, gremlins, bugs
16.Forms, function, failure
17.Colossal errors
18.Unexpected interactions
D.COMMUNICATION THEORY
19.Communication theory
20.Information
21.Talking to the system
PART TWO : APPLIED SYSTEMANTICS
A.SYSTEMS AND SELF-DEFENSE : META-STRATEGIES
22.How not to solve problems
23.The tao of problem avoidance (meta-strategy I)
24.The creative tack (meta-strategy II)
B.PRACTICAL SYSTEMS-DESIGN:
25.Design don'ts
26.Catastrophe theory
C.MANAGEMENT AND OTHER MYTHS
27.Wishful feedback
28.Fear of feedback
29.Feedback and the future
30.Catalytic managership (utilization)
31.The "problem" problem
32.The limits to grandiosity
33.Disaster control
D.INTERVENTION
34.Where's the problem?
35.Probing the system
36.The problem in the solution
37.Taming systems
38.The problem in the question
39.The Net of Indra
40.Beyond stability
41.After the solution, what?(the next problem)
Envoi
APPENDICES