Significant amounts of the systems thinking literature we have focused on this semester urges readers to remember that systems thinkers are not born, but emerge. In complex systems we not only need systems thinkers at the top, but also in every level of organizations. In the craziness of today's world then, why then have we not democratized systems thinking and metacognition so that it becomes incorporated into the early stages of the education system? Why are students still pushed to memorize topics as opposed to examining them, when the world we live in today is changing and self-organizing at a rate faster than you can write your note cards?
Metacognition, or increased awareness in general of one's own thought processes, was a topic addressed in this week's reading that I found especially interesting. Imagine if metacognition was taught in public schools and not only private 'hippie' schools starting at a young age. If this way of thinking in addition to systems thinking was incorporated into early school curriculum, I do not think that our jobs as environmentalists would be as pertinent to the health of the earth as they are now. In my opinion our mental models would be clearer and represent a more accurate depiction of the world, one in which oil companies and environmental organizations would benefit from realizing that they are a part of the same exact system.
On a lighter note, I also think that lack of metacognition and systems thinking in school curriculum has also contributed to the oh so popular quarter and mid life crises. From a young age our minds have been educated, but our hearts have potentially been forgotten in this process. We have lots of information in our brains, but much of it is flawed mental models and someone else's perspective that we have adopted as our own. We continue on this path until we are old enough to begin slightly realizing that we have no solid internal foundation for which some of our major beliefs were built upon. We understand that our system 1 thinking has had the wheel for far too long, and it is necessary to begin utilizing our system 2 thinking, which starts a long and uncomfortable process for many known as the quarter and mid life crises. Could this be avoided by democratizing systems thinking, and are we missing out on a world that is more meaningfully created and run?
In what way have you become a better systems thinker this semester?