Seeing, In Systems
The Shift Within: How We End Oppression and Divisiveness to Create Liberation and Indivisibility for All
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Seeing, In Systems
In previous posts you learned what a system is and how to think in systems. In several of the next posts you will learn the foundational knowledge necessary for increasing your ability to see the systems that are operating all around us all of the time. We live in a world of interconnected systems and subsystems. This applies to both natural systems and human-made systems. Everything is interconnected and interdependent and each system sits within another system like nesting doll toys.
Nesting doll toys. This image is a visual example of how natural systems are designed to nest within a larger natural system. Image from The Unschool of Disruptive Design (unschools.co)
This is also a visual example of evolution and emergence because subsystems evolve and emerge from larger systems. A natural systems example of this would be the evolution and expansion of the observable universe that ultimately led to human life on earth. According to the science of physical cosmology, the observable universe began expanding approximately 13.8 billion years ago. The galaxies including our Milky Way galaxy evolved from the universe. Our solar system evolved from the Milky Way galaxy. The earth evolved from our solar system. Our ecosystem evolved from the earth. Humans evolved from our ecosystem.
A concentric circles diagram of the evolution, interconnectedness, and interdependence of natural systems.
What is important to understand is that natural systems are always evolving and always changing gradually over time. For example, the science of plate tectonics suggests that the continents, like North America, that make up the landmasses on earth are always moving. They were once joined together to form a supercontinent called Gondwana that over time separated to form the continents as we know them today. With natural systems, it is also important to visualize and comprehend the interdependence of each system on its subsequent subsystem and vice versa. They are both a part of one another and they play an equal role in the survival of one another.
For example, humans are both a part of our ecosystem and dependent on other elements of our ecosystem to live. Our ecosystem provides the oxygen we breathe, the food we eat, the natural resources we use to build shelter and power machines, and the inorganic chemical elements, like oxygen, that we use to breathe life. Without this specific ecosystem, there would be no human life. The elements of our ecosystem are also dependent on humans. For example, humans produce carbon dioxide when we breathe and plants need carbon dioxide to produce their food. Plants then produce an output, oxygen, that humans need to survive. This natural balancing feedback loop highlights that we need each other to survive and that no one element in a system is more valuable or powerful than another.
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