System Thinking

System is a collection of interrelated elements that create one complete and unified whole. All components within it constantly interact with each other to achieve a specific purpose. 

For example, a car is a highly sophisticated form of a system. Hundreds of different parts work together to make it move in the desired direction, and even if a small part is missing, the car will fail to run. 

From the system, I learnt that system thinking is a perspective of things around us, which makes us see how everything is connected to other things. In the above example, it is not just the motor that creates the motion in the car but combined work of all the parts in the vehicle. For example, even if everything works, without an accelerator, the car will not move in the desired speed that we want it to run. 

 

Therefore, system thinking forces us to think about the relationships between things and how they influence the overall system. It makes us see the bigger picture. For example, when we buy food from a grocery store, we are compelled to reflect on how all the food items displayed on the shelves are pooled together from various sources. We wonder how they are transported from where and by whom. We also think of farmers who cultivate the crops and the people who buy from the farmers and sell them again to big food companies. Food items are colourfully packaged and labelled. 

 

It is a chain of actions and their reactions. If something happens on the farms, the entire system of food distribution will be disrupted. Likewise, if the brake system in the car fails to perform its job, the car is going to behave in a whole new manner and risk injury to the driver. 

 

So, understanding how things work in the system is essential to be better prepared in times of disaster, for instance.