Home
All Courses
Complexity
Thinking Complexity

Thinking Complexity

Curriculum

4 Sections
36 Lessons
30 Hours

Expand all sectionsCollapse all sections

Chapter 1 - Introducing complexity
Hello everybody! Welcome to the first chapter of our “thinking complexity” class. In this chapter we will be looking at what we mean by complexity, why we sometimes have so much trouble dealing with it and how a systems perspective can help us better comprehend complex situations. As we go we will speak a little latin, discover the butterfly effect and meet a French philosopher and an English scientist. Let's get to it :)
14
Chapter 2 - Thinking in systems
Welcome to chapter 2. In this chapter you will learn more about feedback: a key concept in systems and complexity theory. We will see that many natural, social and business phenomena are driven by reinforcing and balancing feedback. We wrap-up the chapter with a case study on obesity. Unit 8 explains how you can use free online software to tell and share the systemic story of a complex situation. Throughout the chapter we will talk about fashions, swarms and stampedes, we will play checkers and boil a frog. Sounds interesting? Let's get started :)
17
Chapter 3 - Mapping the dynamics of complexity
Welcome to chapter 3. In this chapter we will study accumulations and non-linear relationships in complex systems. We explore how they contribute to both the speed of change over time and the unexpected and often frustrating behaviors we observe in complex situations such as thresholds and tipping points. Bonus unit: Unit 4 explains how you can use free online software to simulate the behavior of a complex situation. This unit is optional. At the end of the chapter we look at the complex problem of climate change. Let's get started!
15
Chapter 4 - Living with complexity
Welcome to chapter 4 There is a common adage that “History does not repeat itself, but it rhymes”, and this is also true of systemic structures. Did you know that the structure that underlies a school yard fight is similar to that behind a commercial price war or an armed conflict between two nations? We will see that there are a small number of systemic stories that can be found at work in a number of different situations in the real world. They will help us quickly understand a complex situation and find leverage points. We will also learn why management thought needs to evolve and move into the systems age. Along the way we will visit Rome, the South China Sea, Greece and Wall Street. Let's get to it!
14

1.4 How to model a complex situation

Key points

To model a complex situation we must answer three questions : What is changing? How is it changing? And why is it changing?
What is changing? Identify the variable of interest in the situation.
How is it changing? Describe how the variable has changed over time.
Why is it changing? Look for elements in the story that may have contributed to the problem.
Connection circles are a graphical representation of the systemic structure.
Three steps to drawing a connection circle : (1) draw a circle, (2) write the elements around the circle, and (3) draw an arrow from an cause to its most direct effect.

1. Watch the video

2. Do the exercise

Draw a connection circle. This exercise will help you practice drawing a systemic structure using a connection circle. We will study why the income gap that we saw in our last unit is growing.

You can read the online news article here. Your task is to draw the connection circle to tell the systemic story behind this situation.

Hint: You can follow the steps outlined in the document entitled How to draw a connection circle provided in the additional material. There is no exact answer to this exercise: your drawing reflects your understanding of the situation.

A suggested solution circle is provided in the additional materials.

3. Study the lesson readings

How to draw a connection circle. This short text explains the three steps to creating a connection circle. It uses a worked example taken from the online news.

Additional materials

Exercise – suggested solution. This is a suggested worked solution for the additional exercise “Draw a connection circle”.
Video sources and bibliography. The web sites, attributions and sources cited in the video “How to model a complex situation”.
The video transcript.

Quiz 1.3

Quiz 1.4

Thinking Complexity

Curriculum

1.4 How to model a complex situation