A System's Purpose is What It Does !s
A System's Purpose is What It Does !s
Replies
search results
search results with summaries
The principle "The purpose of a system is what it does" (POSIWID), coined by British theorist Stafford Beer, emphasizes that a system's true purpose is revealed by its actions and outcomes rather than its stated intentions or goals. According to the article 'The Purpose Of A System Is What It Does, Not ...' from Forbes, POSIWID highlights the potential misalignment between a system's actions and its stated purpose, which can erode trust and confidence. This principle was particularly evident during the pandemic, where systems that aligned their actions with their stated purposes built trust, while those that did not faced negative consequences. The 'Cabrera Lab Blog' article underscores the importance of evaluating a system's actual behavior to understand its true purpose, suggesting that problematic outcomes are often designed outcomes. Similarly, 'The Purpose of a System' by Kimberley Debus illustrates how congregational systems resist change despite intentions for growth, indicating that the system's true purpose is to maintain the status quo. Ned Lowe's article on Medium reinforces that a system's purpose is determined by its actual use, not its intended use, with examples from technology and organizational contexts. The 'POSIWID – The Purpose Of a System Is What It Does' article from The Basics Guide elaborates on the concept's roots in cybernetics and its application in identifying discrepancies between stated goals and actual outcomes. However, the article 'the purpose of a system is you can't always get what you want' from Substack critiques POSIWID as potentially confusing and not universally applicable, suggesting it should be used cautiously. Finally, Boon Yew Chew's LinkedIn post reiterates that a system's purpose is revealed by its actions, aligning with Beer's original intent. Collectively, these articles highlight the critical importance of observing and analyzing a system's actual behavior to understand its true purpose, especially in complex and dy…
@arghzero nice...
Nice, a bit like ‘calling a spade a spade’ (English aphorism).
this is the "ubersearch" command or "s" or "search" it will do a web search, summarize each relevant result, and then summarize the entire thing
One of my all time favourite systems thinking-type thoughts is:
Dr. Ray Peat's main thesis is that "Energy and structure are interdependent at every level." My understanding of this idea is that it is the guiding principle of life.
"The relation of energy to structure is, I think, the central question of biology. (The importance of the same question for the physical sciences might indicate in a rough way how Haldane's predicted "swallowing up" might occur.) The ideas of resonance and hysteresis, which are only vaguely defined in physics, have to do with the interaction of energy and structure on various levels of complexity and organization, and are examples of physical concepts that can gain meaning and clarity from biology. When energy flows through matter, order accumulates (as a result of resonance and hysteresis, for example), but we hear so much about "entropy," "randomness," and "symmetry" that we forget most of the formative processes in the material world." -Ray Peat, Generative Energy
"Energy flows through all systems, and the flow of energy leaves a residue of structure" -Ray Peat, Generative Energy
"The flow of energy through substance increases the order in that substance. More life and more energy can solve many of the basic problems of life." -Ray Peat, Generative Energy
…Same is true of Bitcoin I think.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sgwj3ve9vzk
nice! first time i've felt a desire to lock ai written content. thought of a better way to make it a little smarter about filtering out irrelevant results as we speak, so expect better results soon