1. SystemanticsHow Systems Really Work, And How They Fail

2. What is a System?Bertalanffy: General Systems TheorySelf regulating feedback loop that maintain cohesiveness. 3. ExamplesImmune SystemComputer ProgramsCompaniesHuman CultureEcosystems 4. System AnticsHeat Sensitive elevator call buttons!Calls the elevator to where theres a fire.Three Mile Island has many alarm lights!Reactor coolent low next to elevator stuck light.Phone System auto-recovers!Crashes from all systems recovering at once. 5. FIRST LAW OF SYSTEMS 6. SELF-PRESERVATION 7. No matter the stated goal of the system......Systems protect themselves first. 8. SYSTEMS IN GENERAL WORK ONLY AS WELL AS THEY NEED TO. 9. A crappy system with strong self-preservation instincts beats a great system. 10. THE SYSTEM ALWAYS KICKS BACK 11. Systems usually treat change as a threat andreject or resist it. 12. PEOPLE IN SYSTEMS DO NOT DO WHAT THESYSTEM SAYS THEY ARE DOING 13. Once the system is known, bugs in the systemcan be exploited, typically by the people workingthere. 14. THE MODE OF FAILURE OF A COMPLEXSYSTEM CANNOT BE DETERMINED FROM ITSSTRUCTURE 15. Total system collapse usually happens as a resultof a bunch of interrelated components. 16. COMPLEX SYSTEMS ACT UNEXPECTEDLY 17. Even when in normal operation, its not by the same logic that an outsider would use. 18. A COMPLEX SYSTEM THAT WORKS USUALLYEVOLVES FROM A SIMPLE SYSTEM THATWORKS. 19. Craigslist is a great example of this. 20. NEW SYSTEMS GENERATE NEW PROBLEMS 21. Systems arent bound to act in the best interests of their creators.