Emergent Property

An emergent property is behavior that cannot be predicted by examination of the parts. Emergent behavior is also known as "the whole is greater than the sum of the parts." In other words, the behavior of the whole "emerges" only when the parts are arranged in a certain manner to create the whole. A dynamic entity, such as a system, agent, or process, usually has many emergent properties. For example, civilization lately has the new and unexpected emergent property of global environmental unsustainability.

From the viewpoint of systems thinking, the behavior of a system is an emergent property of its structure. Each behavior of interest can be traced to particular aspects of the structure. It follows that if you do not know the structure of a complex social system problem, then you will be unable to solve the problem except by trial and error. For more please see the wikipedia article on emergent properties.

 

 

The Dueling Loops

The most popular page on the site by a factor of 3. This paper presents a simple model showing why activists have been unable to solve the sustainability problem, and an alternative solution strategy based on high leverage points.

The Phenomenon of Change Resistance

This is the key concept that starts people thwinking, and causes them to explore the rest of the site. The concept is subtle, but has the potential to change the sustainability problem from insolvable to solvable.

The Powell Memo

The most eye popping short read (7 pages) on the site, if you have never heard about it. The memo was written in 1971.

The Dueling Loops Videos

These average 8 minutes. They give a quick introduction to the Dueling Loops model and how it explains the tremendous change resistance to solving the sustainability problem.
 

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