PUTTING THE "SYSTEMS THINKING" IN SYSTEMS

As a doctoral student at Cornell University long ago, I TA'd an intro course in evolutionary bio for one of my advisors, an iconic evolutionary biologist and Darwin historian, Dr. Will Provine.

In the first class, in a huge lecture hall filled with Freshman, Will started with a 50 minute gauntlet of the most difficult ideas in evo bio. The students were always visibly overwhelmed and distressed, frantically scribbling notes in a hopeless attempt to keep pace. 

With five minutes left in the lecture he put up a single slide with a list of the 20+ difficult ideas he had just covered. He said, "These were all the ideas I was taught in one of the best graduate schools in evolutionary biology as a doctoral student in the 1960s." Then he put up another slide and said, "And here are how many of them are still considered valid. None."

He then asked the students a single question, “If this is what I learned and none of it is true then what do you think I really learned in graduate school?"

He paused. "What I learned was how to think like an evolutionary biologist. And, that is what I will teach you in the course."

I tell this story because I think it beautifully addresses the question: What does it mean to be a discipline or field that has the modifier "Systems" as in Systems ______? There are currently 89 such fields (see list below). Systems Engineering (SE), for example, is one of them. Systems Engineering is a very important discipline. But so often the case is that programs miss what that modifier means, thus the change in name is merely cosmetic. I once had a memorable conversation with Mike Kwinn and Greg Boyland at the USMA SE, where we reflected on a frustrating reality: we can teach students numerous systemic techniques and tools, but if they lack a systemic mindset, those tools end up being used in a non-systemic way—leading to non-systemic solutions.

To put the "Systems" in Systems ______, we need credible, validated evidence of what systems thinking is and what works in terms of developing it as a skill. Systems Thinking is, in effect, the field of study that puts the "systems" in Systems Engineering and these 89 other fields. 

Core Systems Disciplines

1. Systems Science

2. Systems Thinking

3. Systems Theory

4. Systems Analysis

5. Systems Modeling

6. Systems Design

7. Systems Research

8. Systems Evaluation
   

Systems in Engineering & Technology

1. Systems Engineering

2. Systems Architecture

3. Systems Cybernetics

4. Systems Robotics

5. Systems Control Engineering

6. Systems Informatics

7. Systems Computing

8. Systems Communication

9. Systems Integration

10. Systems Manufacturing

11. Systems Automation

12. Systems Software Engineering

13. Systems Artificial Intelligence

14. Systems Complexity Engineering

15. Systems Mechatronics

16. Systems Electrical Engineering

17. Systems Design Engineering
    

Systems in Natural & Physical Sciences

1. Systems Biology

2. Systems Ecology

3. Systems Neuroscience

4. Systems Chemistry

5. Systems Physics

6. Systems Geology

7. Systems Medicine

8. Systems Pharmacology

9. Systems Hydrology

10. Systems Meteorology

11. Systems Biophysics
    

Systems in Social & Behavioral Sciences

1. Systems Psychology

2. Systems Sociology

3. Systems Anthropology

4. Systems Economics

5. Systems Political Science

6. Systems Cognitive Science

7. Systems Linguistics

8. Systems Philosophy
   

Systems in Business, Management & Decision-Making

1. Systems Management

2. Systems Decision Science

3. Systems Operations Research

4. Systems Organizational Development

5. Systems Leadership

6. Systems Strategy

7. Systems Risk Management

8. Systems Financial Analysis

9. Systems Entrepreneurship
   

Systems in Education & Knowledge Fields

1. Systems Pedagogy

2. Systems Learning Science

3. Systems Curriculum Design

4. Systems Knowledge Management

5. Systems Information Science

6. Systems Education Policy
   

Systems in Environmental, Sustainability, and Policy Fields

1. Systems Resilience

2. Systems Sustainability

3. Systems Climate Science

4. Systems Agriculture

5. Systems Urban Planning

6. Systems Disaster Management

7. Systems Resource Management

8. Systems Environmental Science
   

Systems in Health & Medicine

1. Systems Epidemiology

2. Systems Public Health

3. Systems Immunology

4. Systems Healthcare Management

5. Systems Geriatrics

6. Systems Nutrition

7. Systems Psychiatry

8. Systems Medical Informatics
   

Systems in Military, Security & Crisis Management

1. Systems Warfare

2. Systems Intelligence Analysis

3. Systems Cybersecurity

4. Systems Resilience Planning

5. Systems Emergency Response

6. Systems Tactical Analysis

7. Systems Defense Strategy
   

Other Notable Systems Fields

1. Systems Art & Design

2. Systems Ethics

3. Systems Legal Studies

4. Systems Cultural Studies

5. Systems Journalism

6. Systems Transportation

7. Systems Musicology