Systemic Behavior Essay, Research Paper

A system is a collection of physical and nonphysical interactive parts all having a connection through a mutual purpose of achieving some goal. Everything around us is a system, and everything has certain patterns of behavior. At the base level, the behavior of all systems is fundamentally the same. Based on this observation, we can speculate the results of any event that that takes place in reference to any system. There are three universal laws of systems behavior, synergy, reciprocity, and balance.

The first systemic law of behavior is synergy. Synergy, similar to the Gestalt approach in psychology, states that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A well known example, as noted in our book, are the works of R. Buckminster Fuller, who designed the geodesic dome. Synergy can be seen well in anything with a physical existence. Technology simply enhances synergy by combining resources and capital made available to societies to provide themselves with material tools and goods. This directly relates to our evolutionary process known as technologizing. Examples of this can be seen in business systems, when subsystems such as computers, people, papers, buildings, and transportation are combined, is far more efficient. This law can be applied to larger systems such as our social, political, and economic structures.

The second systemic law of behavior is reciprocity. Stated best, what you put in is what you get out. In every system, synergy and reciprocity play hand in hand. An example of this is TNT. If a large amount of TNT is set inside of a cave and ignited, the result is an explosion. In doing so, there is a shock wave underground that can be felt, maybe even collapsing the overhead ground. By focusing the energy in the system, we are able to choose our desired results. The same can apply to sociopolitico-economics. Take for example computers, which have created whole new industries. The output, computers, are built in a business system involving various subsystems, similar to the ones stated above. Computers have accelerated our economies of scale at an increasingly increasing rate, provided for greater efficiency, in turn creating new industries and markets. One aspect to view is that governments have greatly benefited from this because of high degree of databases they store, which range from demographic data to military to just about anything. In the process, we have given ourselves the power to send our civilization into a downward spiral, by utilizing the same technology to make smart weapons of destruction. This result is the synergy of the system, and how we have focused the energy poured into it.

The final systemic law of behavior is balance. Ultimately all systems have same goal, to obtain balance, although their display may be different. This holds true of corporations, governments, college students, intimate relationships, weight lifters, etc. In each of the examples above there are set rules for determining what their goals are and how to reach them. While we use technology to develop new methods of destruction, we also use it to develop new forms of medical treatment. A better example to illustrate balance in humans is the evolutionary process of homeostasis, which is discussed in question one.