| system | a pattern of relationships, not a mere collection of parts; a dynamic whole shaped by stocks, interactions, flows, and feedback loops. |
| system boundaries | conceptual lines used for modeling; incomplete and permeable because systems interpenetrate. |
| continuum | The idea that ‘there are no separate systems’ and everything is connected across gradients rather than hard divides. |
| feedback | Information returning to a system about its behavior, enabling correction or amplification. |
| reinforcing (positive) feedback loops | loops that amplify change (e.g., wealth begets power, power begets wealth on Urras). |
| balancing (negative) feedback loops | Loops that counteract change and stabilize the system (e.g., mutualism and scarcity damping inequality on Anarres). |
| delay | the lag (difference in time) between action and its observable effect, which can distort understanding and control. |
| resilience | a system’s capacity to absorb shocks, adapt, and keep functioning; lost when feedback is suppressed or distorted. |
| fragility | a state where a system cannot adapt, and risks failure when conditions within the system, or in its wider environment, change. |
| dynamic equilibrium | a shifting balance maintained through ongoing feedback and adjustment, not static harmony. |
| oscillation | movement back and forth between states or poles (e.g., Anarres-Urras as mutually shaping counterparts). |
| interdependence | mutual reliance among parts of a system; “being-part-of” rather than being separate or sovereign. |
| nonlinear causality | cause and effect that does not unfold in simple, straight chronological lines, but rather indirect, delayed, or emergent. |
| leverage points | places in a system where small shifts yield large effects. |
| paradigm | the underlying worldview or set of assumptions from which a system’s goals, rules, and feedback loops arise. |
| paradigm shift | transformation at the level of mindset that reconfigures the whole system’s behavior. |
| system health | the quality of a system’s functioning, indicated by resilience, openness to feedback, adaptability, and learning. |
| listening systems | Systems designed to hear themselves—through active, diverse feedback that informs adjustment and renewal. |
| ossification | The process by which ideals harden into dogma, narrowing discourse and choking feedback. |
| dogma | Fixed belief that resists critique and change, blocking the flow of information. |
| ethical stance | a posture of humility and responsibility within complexity; systems thinking is an ethic before it is a method. |
| moral humility | recognition of limits, interdependence, and participation; freedom as engagement rather than mastery. |
| epistemic humility | acknowledgment that our knowledge and our models are partial and that systems will surprise us; the basis for learning. |
| essentialism | reducing reality to a single defining property or value; rejected in favor of relational, contextual understanding. |
| inside-out participation | engaging as both observer and participant within systems, listening as much as acting. |
| algorithmic governance | governance shaped by algorithmic systems, where power can accrue through data, metrics, and optimization. |
| optimization loops | reinforcing feedback that privileges efficiency and stability over adaptability. |
| surveillance | data collection and monitoring that can tighten control loops and skew incentives. |
| metrics vs. meaning | the risk that quantitative indicators substitute for substantive judgment or values. |
| compliance vs. trust | when procedural conformity is treated as equivalent to genuine trust this will typically lead to brittle systems. |
| map vs. territory | warning that models and metrics can colonize reality when they’re mistaken for it. |
| ownership of feedback loops | the question of who controls how information circulates and which voices are encoded in systems. |
| information flows | the movement of data, signals, and stories through a system; the lifeblood of adaptation. |
| distortions | biases and outright errors in information that misguide decisions and weaken responsiveness. |
| reflection (in systems) | the capacity to examine one’s own behavior and assumptions, beyond reactive control. |
| design for feedback, not prediction | Prioritizing mechanisms that learn and adapt over attempts at perfect foresight. |
| learning vs. control | favoring iterative improvement and openness over rigid command-and-control structures. |
| adaptation vs. stability | building systems that evolve with context rather than seeking unchanging order. |