#systemThinking #patterns #interconnections #worldview 🧠 **Key Idea:** A **system** is a set of interconnected elements (people, cells, processes, or anything else) that together produce a **pattern of behavior over time**. ### 📍 Definition - The elements of a system are **linked** in a way that influences how the system functions as a whole. - The pattern of behavior emerges **from the relationships** between elements, not from any one element alone. ### 📖 Examples of Systems - Biological: The human body, an ecosystem. - Social: A school, an economy, a family. - Mechanical: A factory production line, a traffic network. ### 🔄 How Systems Can Be Affected - **Buffeted** – Pushed or disturbed by outside forces. - **Constricted** – Limited or slowed in its functioning. - **Triggered** – Activated into action by an internal or external event. - **Driven from Outside** – Influenced or controlled by external conditions. 💡 **Insight:** Understanding that systems generate their **own patterns over time** helps in predicting their behavior and designing effective interventions. 📖 **Source:** - Derived from *Thinking in Systems* by Donella Meadows → [[Thinking in Systems]] [[ENG - The Amygdala – Emotional Alarm System of the Brain]] --> is a part of the system. The lower "downstairs system ofcthe brain"