This week’s reading on meta-mapping focused on creating a graphic distinction between system structure and information or content. In other words, how do we map our systems with clarity while maintaining the complexity of relationships and perspectives? As I worked my way through the different mapping structures, I recognized similarities between system structure and another diagram I’ve become familiar with - org charts. In the final example of Chapter 6, Cabrera maps out the different components of Sustainability including 3 major elements: water security, food security, and energy security. The authors connect these elements with Solutions (Governance, Finance, Infrastructure/Tech) and Action Areas (Society, Economy, and Environment) before devising a set of desired outcomes. I found this visually compelling in its simplicity, but also potentially useful in team organization. I’ve made similar maps in an attempt to untangle the complexity of future transportation systems, but I never know what to do with them. It might help to think of each category as a topic to be explored by a designated team member and presented in relation to other system elements. I also wonder whether topic delegation is detrimental to interdisciplinary systems thinking. In splitting up topics, are we working backwards toward specialization? Maybe a discussion about how teams integrate systems thinking into their process would be helpful at this stage.
A second and unrelated thought was inspired by the Charles Darwin anecdote. During his Atlantic voyage, Darwin used the structure of Sir Charles Lyell’s ‘Principles of Geology’ as a template for his own ‘The Origin of Species’. Cabrera uses this example to illustrate the effect of transferred knowledge across disciplines. In another example, Kindergartners learn part-whole exercises and then automatically start to apply them in different scenarios. This reminded me of the concept of “information diet” in the context of personal media consumption. In the world of sports, athletes depend on food diet to regulate chemicals and maximize performance. In the world of music, musicians depend on a “music diet” to inspire solo and songwriting melodies. In my experience, research and academia are no different. As students of the environment, we need to be conscious and intentional about the information we consume. Often times, this information isn’t immediately relevant to current coursework or assignments, but meant to be stored for later use.
What are the most nutritious brain foods in your “information diet” and how can we work to better curate knowledge consumption to improve our own capacity for systems thinking?
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