Quote by Donella H. Meadows

“This ancient Sufi story was told to teach a simple lesson but one that we often ignore: The behavior of a system cannot be known just by knowing the elements of which the system is made.” quote by Donella H. Meadows — Download Open image

““This ancient Sufi story was told to teach a simple lesson but one that we often ignore: The behavior of a system cannot be known just by knowing the elements of which the system is made.””

Donella H. Meadows

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“So, what is a system? A system is a set of things—people, cells, molecules, or whatever—interconnected in such a way that they produce their…

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“People don't need enormous cars; they need admiration and respect. They don't need a constant stream of new clothes; they need to feel that others consider them to be attractive, and they need excitement and variety and beauty. People don't need electronic entertainment; they need something interesting to occupy their minds and emotions. And so forth. Trying to fill real…

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“When we, system dynamicists, see a pattern persist in many parts of a system over long periods, we assume that it has causes embedded in the feedback loop structure of the system. Running the same system harder or faster will not change the pattern as long as the structure is not revised. Growth as usual has widened the gap between…

Donella H. Meadows

“But rules for sustainability, like every workable social rule, would be put into place not to destroy freedoms, but to create freedoms or to protect them. A ban on bank robbing inhibits the freedom of the thief in order to assure that everyone else has the freedom to deposit and withdraw money safely. A ban on overuse of a renewable…

Donella H. Meadows

“Managers do not solve problems, they manage messes.”

Donella H. Meadows

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“You think that because you understand “one” that you must therefore understand “two” because one and one make two. But you forget that you…

Donella H. Meadows

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“The difference between a sustainable society and a present-day economic recession is like the difference between stopping and automobile purposefully with the brakes versus stopping it by crashing into a brick wall. When the present economy overshoots, it turns around too quickly and unexpectedly for people and enterprises to retrain, relocate, and readjust. A deliberate transition to sustainability would take…

Donella H. Meadows

“We can't impose our will on a system. We can listen to what the system tells us, and discover how its properties and our…

Donella H. Meadows

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“Model utility depends not on whether its driving scenarios are realistic (since no one can know that for sure), but on whether it responds…

Donella H. Meadows

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“Designing a system for intrinsic responsibility could mean, for example, requiring all towns or companies that emit wastewater into a stream to place their…

Donella H. Meadows

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“a system must consist of three kinds of things: elements, interconnections, and a function or purpose.”

Donella H. Meadows

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“The systems-thinking lens allows us to reclaim our intuition about whole systems and • hone our abilities to understand parts, • see interconnections, •…

Donella H. Meadows

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