1. 1.1.1 Systems and Synergy

2. What do these, and the previous pictures, have in common?

3. They are all Systems

4. What is the meaning of the word system?

5. A system is something that:
Is made up of
individual
component parts
that work together
to perform a
particular function
A bicycle is an example of a system

6. But if the parts of the bicycle are piled up in the middle of the room, they cease to work together and thus stop being a system

7. So a system could be...?

8. So a system could be...? A building a flower an atom a political party
a car
your body
furniture
an electric circuit

9. SYNERGY
One of the most fascinating characteristics of any and all structures is the characteristic called SYNERGY

10. SYNERGY “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” Synergy is:
The only word in any language that describes the behaviour of systems in this way:
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”

11. Another way to say this is :
Even if you know all the parts that make up a system you still cannot know or even predict how the whole system is going to behave or work.
Can you give an example of this??

12. The Human Body
If you take all the stuff that makes up a person, you would find that we are made up of:
Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Water, Calcium, Sodium, Magnesium, Sulfur, Iron and many other elements.

13. You could never be able to explain YOUR behaviour or all the things that YOU do, or all the different aspects of you, if you looked at just the stuff that makes you up. Never in a million years.
This is what we mean by SYNERGY.

14. Even if you looked at the next level up…the Cell
Even if you knew what all the cells in your body do, you still could not describe YOU.
Something very unique and new and unpredictable happens when the parts of a system work together.

15. Try this Puzzle.
Using 6 sticks, all the same length, make 4 triangles, each with sides the length of the stick
Hint #1: Think in a new way. Synergy has new and unique ways of changing things. Making them unexpected, unpredictable

16. Hint #2
Think in 3-D

17. Ready for the Answer?
The Answer is….

18. The Tetrahedron

19. The Tetrahedron is the Simplest Structural System in the Universe
The Tetrahedron- made of 6 sticks, 4 equilateral triangles, all 60 degrees, each vertex is part of 3 triangles
the strongest structure for its volume and Surface area.
Eg; diamonds

20. Synergy
Even in the simple tetrahedron we have synergy. Because until the last stick or strut or member or piece or whatever you call it is added there is no structure at all. It would collapse. Try it!!!
Imagine all the synergy going on in your body which is much more complex than a tetrahedron.

21. Another example of synergy
Ordinary Table Salt (NaCl, Sodium Chloride)
Synergy: The behaviour of whole systems that is unpredicted by knowing the behaviour of the individual parts taken separately
Na (sodium) is a metal, highly reactive in water, explosive, burns with a yellow flame.
Cl (chlorine) is a deadly greenish gas.
Both of these elements when taken separately are poisonous and deadly BUT

22. SALT
When combined, we witness synergy. Two deadly substances combine to produce something that we cannot live without.
Something unique and new and unpredictable happens when two or more things come together and work together

23. Atoms combine together to form structural systems
The behaviour of the table salt is totally unpredictable by simply knowing the behaviour of the individual parts.
All nature, all systems, all structures display synergy. The Universe is the Synergy of Synergies.

24. Another interesting aspect of Synergy
When we understand how the parts of a structure interact together to make something new and unique and unpredictable, we can also see that when we bring together
ideas from different areas, such as math, art, music, science they will have a synergetic effect. That is, they provide the potential for great new discoveries.

25. Discovery
One great truth about discovery is that, “One discovery often leads to further discoveries”

26. Bring different ideas Together
One of the best places to find ideas for structural systems is in NATURE.
Nature always uses the most economical, efficient and reliable structural systems

27. Ecosystems Ecological Systems
Ecological Systems follow the laws of synergy as well.
It is the interrelationships between the parts that produces the behaviour of the whole.

28. Systems

29. Environmental Systems and Societies
Interrelationships among climate, geology, soil,
vegetation, and animals.

30. All the parts are linked together and affect each other.
A System
Is an organized collection of interdependent components that perform a function and which are connected through the transfer of energy and/or matter
All the parts are linked together and affect each other.

31. Why use Systems Concept
Why do we use Systems?
Useful for understanding and explaining phenomena
A holistic approach that can lead to a deeper understanding and possibly to further discoveries

32. Characteristics of Systems
What are the characteristics?
Component parts (reservoirs, storages, stocks, accumulations)
Processes (flows, transformations, transfers, reactions, photosynthesis, respiration)
Negative feedback mechanism for maintaining equilibrium Eg, circulatory system
heart, veins, arteries, capillaries, blood cells, plasma etc
pumping of the blood, blood pressure, nutrient exchange, vasodilation etc

33. Why Models
Why models?
The real thing is not available or it’s impractical
Too rare, too complex, too big, too expensive

34. What is a Model? What is a model?
A representation or a simulation, could be conceptual, physical, mathematical

35. How to evaluate a model? Does it explain past observations
Does it agree with other models
Does it predict accurately

36. Models
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
R Buckminster Fuller

37. The whole (system) is greater than the sum of the parts.
A system has properties and functions NOT present in the individual components.
The whole (system) is greater than the sum of the parts.
Properties of the whole (system) CANNOT be predicted with the study of the parts on their own.
This is called “Synergy”

38. Synergy and Systems
Synergy is the only word in our language that means behavior of whole systems unpredicted by the separately observed behaviors of any of the system’s separate parts or any subassembly of the system’s parts. There is nothing in the chemistry of a toenail that predicts the existence of a human being.

39. Systems are defined by the source and ultimate destination of their matter and/or energy.
1. OPEN SYSTEM: a system in which both matter and energy are exchanged across boundaries of the system.

40. 2. CLOSED SYSTEM: a system in which energy is exchanged across boundaries of the system, but matter is not.

41. Most natural living systems are OPEN systems.
3. ISOLATED SYSTEM: a system in which neither energy nor matter is exchanged across boundaries of the system.
NO SUCH SYSTEM EXISTS!!!
Most natural living systems are OPEN systems.

42. Two basic processes must occur in an ecosystem:
A cycling of chemical elements.
Flow of energy.
TRANSFERS: normally flow through a system and involve a change in location.
TRANSFORMATIONS: lead to an interaction within a system in the formation of a new end product, or involve a change of state.

43. Components of a system:
Inputs such as energy or matter.
Human
Body
Calories
Protein

44. 2. Flows of matter or energy within the systems at certain rates.
Human
Metabolism
Calories
Protein

45. 3.Outputs of certain forms of matter or energy that flow out of the system into sinks in the environment.
Human
Metabolism
Calories
Protein
WasteHeat
WasteMatter

46. 4. Storage areas in which energy or matter can accumulate for various
lengths of time
before being
released.
Human
Metabolism
Calories
Protein
fat
insulation
muscle fiber
hair, nails
enzymes

47. Inputs and Outputs

49. PHOTOSYNTHESIS RESPIRATION
energy input
from sun
PHOTOSYNTHESIS
(plants, other producers)
nutrient
cycling
RESPIRATION
(hetero & autos, decomposers)
energy output (mainly heat)

51. SUSTAINABILITY is the extent to which a given interaction with the environment exploits and utilizes the natural income without causing long-term deterioration to the natural capital.