Table 2 Concepts of systems thinking
From: Infectious disease emergence and global change: thinking systemically in a shrinking world
Systems component (synonym) | Example |
|---|---|
Threshold event (emergence, tipping point, surprise, shock) | Birth, death, laughter, standing ovation, riot, violence, genocide, disease appearing in a new species or context |
Positive feedback (amplifier) | Multi-organ failure, release of greenhouse gases from Arctic triggered by warming, leading to more warming; melting of icereducing albedo (reflectivity); also stimulating more warming |
Negative feedback (dampener) | Physiological means to maintain homeostasis (eg appetite, thirst,renal function, sweating, shivering); social means such as fair distribution |
Self-organisation | Ant nest, predator–prey ecological system, embryogenesis, many complex social systems, eg totalitarianism, democracies, cults, |