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The Cabrera Lab Blog
As part of our research mission, we strive to make the science of systems thinking accessible to everyone. The Cabrera Lab Blog and the Cabrera Lab Podcast are our primary platforms for sharing these ideas. The views expressed in these outlets are solely our own and do not necessarily represent those of our partners or of Cornell University.
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WATER: CHALLENGES OR OPPORTUNITIES?
In response to my post on Coming to ThinkWater, a friend asked me why I framed what I wrote about water as challenges instead of...
Jeremy Solin
Aug 23, 20152 min read
THINKPARKING?
This entry is part of our [`everydayST`](http://stdaily.ghost.io/whats-the-everyday-dsrp-tag/) series. Learn more about the...
Derek Cabrera
Aug 21, 20152 min read
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SYSTEMS THINKER...
This entry is part of our [`everydayST`](http://stdaily.ghost.io/whats-the-everyday-dsrp-tag/) series. Learn more about the...
Derek Cabrera
Aug 20, 20156 min read
COMING TO THINKWATER
I've been working in sustainability and environmental education for the past 15 years. I chose this field because I believe that...
Jeremy Solin
Aug 18, 20152 min read
WHAT IS A SYSTEM? WHAT IS SYSTEMS THINKING?
Einstein famously said, "if you can’t explain something simply you don’t understand it." Of course, there's lot's of nuance in...
Derek Cabrera
Aug 18, 20151 min read
MAP OF PANGEA WITH CURRENT INTERNATIONAL BORDERS
The current international borders were obviously not in place when the Pangea supercontinent existed. But this map relates two ideas...
Derek Cabrera
Aug 18, 20151 min read
SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS OF SYSTEMS THINKING: THINKWATER
A couple recent posts in online discussion groups have asked about positive outcomes that result from applying systems thinking (ST) to a...
Erin Powers
Aug 17, 20153 min read
RELATIONSHIPS (R) ARE NOT ENOUGH!
There are a number of folks in the systems thinking world who are of the opinion that when discussing what is universal to all attempts...
Derek Cabrera
Aug 17, 20155 min read
MENTAL MODELS AND DSRP
I'm motivated to write this blog by a recent discussion thread on Systems Thinking Daily about mental models. Of particular interest is...
Erin Powers
Aug 16, 20154 min read
WHEN SIMPLICITY UNDERLIES COMPLEXITY
All images credits from STMS[^n] I mentioned in a previous [blog](http://stdaily.ghost.io/what-are-the-patterns-that-connect/) that...
Derek Cabrera
Aug 13, 20155 min read
SYSTEMS THINKING = SEEING INVISIBLE STRUCTURE
Today I am writing about systems thinking, and how it can be equated with looking beyond the surface to see invisible structure. My...
Derek Cabrera
Aug 12, 20153 min read
TOP 10 THINGS SYSTEMS THINKERS DO
I can sum up what people want to know about systems thinking in two questions. First, they want to know what systems thinking is, which...
Derek Cabrera
Aug 11, 20154 min read
WHAT ARE THE PATTERNS THAT CONNECT?
I was recently asked a number of questions which I will reframe some for clarity. 1 Is systems thinking (ST) a thing? Or more...
Derek Cabrera
Aug 9, 20154 min read
WICKED PROBLEMS
Image credit[^n] The term wicked problem is thrown around a lot in the systems thinking world. But what is a wicked problem? The...
Derek Cabrera
Aug 6, 20152 min read
DEMOCRATIZING SYSTEMS THINKING
"The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking." - Albert Einstein[1] In a previous post I cautioned...
Derek Cabrera
Aug 5, 20153 min read
SYSTEM DYNAMICS ≠ SYSTEMS THINKING
Recent discussion prompted by the query "What is systems thinking?" has motivated me to write this blog, in part because there is no...
Derek Cabrera
Aug 4, 20153 min read
LET'S DROP THE DUALITIES IN SYSTEMS THINKING.
Image credit: M.C. Escher.1 There is an often cited, well-worn debate around *epistemology versus ontology* in systems thinking. It is in...
Derek Cabrera
Aug 2, 20153 min read
DISTINCTIONS: EVERY LEADING ROLE IS MOONLIGHTING AS A SUPPORTING ROLE
The Distinctions Rule may seem like the easiest part of DSRP, the four simple rules of systems thinking identified by Derek and Laura...
Erin Powers
Jul 29, 20152 min read
SYSTEMS RULE!
You can interpret that title either way... Today I discuss the Systems Rule of DSRP (see DSRP Primer for more info). I'll keep it brief...
Erin Powers
Jul 28, 20151 min read
THE POWER OF PERSPECTIVE
New Yorker cartoon on perspective... The perspective rule involves two coimplying elements: a point (the seer) and a view (that which is...
Erin Powers
Jul 26, 20151 min read
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