2013-04-18

April 18 is the fourth meeting for Systems Thinking Ontario.  Registration is at http://st-on-2013-04-18.eventbrite.com/.

Theme: Systems Thinking and Variety

The focus question for the evening is:  "How do systems deal with variety, in physical systems, biological systems and social systems?"

Suggested pre-reading:

To provide a minimal shared context, a foundational (i.e. really old!) article can be helpful.

• W. Ross Ashby (1958), "Requisite variety and its implications for the control of complex systems", Cybernetica 1:2, p. 83-99. (available at http://pcp.vub.ac.be/Books/AshbyReqVar.pdf,republished on the web by F. Heylighen—Principia Cybernetica Project)

As supplements, more applied versions are available by Ashby proponents, in video and written form.

• Stafford Beer (1990), "The Law of Requisite Variety" (web video), The Intelligent Organization Conference, Monterrey, Mexico at http://youtu.be/bDRudRhNgy4.

• Michael C. Geoghegan and Paul Pangaro (2009), "Design for a Self-regenerating Organization", International Journal of General Systems, Special Issue on the Intellectual Legacy of W. Ross Ashby, Volume 38 Issue 2, at http://pangaro.com/ashby/

Participants should not feel limited to this suggested pre-reading, but should recognize that other attendees may have not read, or are reading differently, that article.

Agenda, April. 18, 2012

Post-meeting artifacts

Bloggers are encouraged to write about their learning and experiences at the meeting. Links will be added to this page.