CIVL 200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Donella Meadows, Concept Map, Relate
Document Summary
Cartesian/reductionist view/approach: dividing the engineering problem into more manageable parts, then addressing each of the issues associated with the parts individually (a traditional engineering view) Assumes that once all the small problems are addressed, the larger problem would subsequently be solved. Problem --> i. e. urban transportation does not consider environmental effects, as when they are broken up into smaller problems, they only focus on ensuring mobility rather than the larger problem of fossil fuel emissions. Systems view/approach: allows analysis of a sub-system while also keeping in mind the system is situated in (i. e. energy system within a building, against the economical/environmental/climate systems and more) --> involves complex system theory. System: a group of components that are interconnected such that they work together for a common purpose i. e. a common enterprise, to identify if you are looking at a system rather than just a set of items, ensure that: If no, then you are not observing a system. if yes, then.
