10 Best Articles on Systems Thinking
The most useful articles on systems thinking from around the web—beginners to advanced—curated by thought leaders and our community. We focus on timeless pieces and update the list whenever we discover new, must-read articles or videos—make sure to bookmark and revisit this page.
Top 5 Systems Thinking Articles
At a glance: these are the articles that have been most read, shared, and saved on systems thinking by Refind users in 2023.
Short Articles
Short on time? Check out these useful short articles on systems thinking—all under 10 minutes.
Systems thinking is what makes designers great — Tanner Christensen
I used to believe that what made great designers so great was their craft; their ability to add polish and style to whatever they touched. Now I see that what makes exceptional designers so incredible…
«We call this lens of thinking "systems thinking." It tends to separate the genuinely great designers from the pretty-great ones.»
Design systems thinking
Do you have a design system or do you have a design analytical?
Humanity is stuck in short-term thinking. Here’s how we escape.
Every so often, I ask my daughter about the future. When she was three, she had only a basic concept of time, with little awareness of clocks or calendars. She could understand The Very Hungry…
How Systems Thinking Can Simplify Your Life
When you commit to a system, real progress is guaranteed
Networked thinking: a quiet cognitive revolution
Humanity has lived through several cognitive revolutions already. The development of various writing systems around the world; the invention of the printing press; the formulation of the heliocentric…
Long Articles
These are some of the most-read long-form articles on systems thinking.
From systems thinking to systems doing
A primer to apply Systems Thinking in Product Design
«Don’t solve problems. dissolve them»
Systems thinking: the key to process improvements
“Learn how to see. Realize that everything connects to everything else.”
The Map Is Not the Territory
The map of reality is not reality. Even the best maps are imperfect. That's because they are reductions of what they represent. If a map were to represent the territory with perfect fidelity, it would…
«A model might show you some risks, but not the risks of using it. Moreover, models are built on a finite set of parameters, while reality affords us infinite sources of risks.»
Thinking in maps: from the Lascaux caves to modern knowledge graphs
Humans have been thinking in maps since the first symbolic communication systems. While it may first bring cartography to mind, a map isn't always geographic.
Nicky Case: Seeing Whole Systems
Nicky Case’s presentations are as ingenious, compelling, and graphically rich as the visualizing tools and games Nicky creates for understanding complex dynamic systems. Case writes: “We need to see…
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