#ISSS2016 Boulder

2932

The goals of the ISSS include researching a general theory of systems (GST) by discovering isomorphies, unifying science, and transferring models between disciplines. For 45 years, this speaker has been contributing to a Systems Processes Theory (SPT) which some have described as the most advanced and detailed, science-based theory of systems extant in attempting to fulfill that dream of ISSS Founders. This tutorial will condense several graduate, university-level core courses on SPT into one presentation. It will begin with the differences between the popular and widely known “systems thinking” and “systems philosophy” found in ISSS and the criteria for a true science of systems. It will then describe why study of isomorphic systems processes is of fundamental importance, how this school of thought teaches & provides evidence that systems processes are isomorphic between widely different systems, how studies of natural systems using the scientific method leads to strong evidence of how systems work in general, and how to find such GST isomorphies in the voluminous science literature. The results is a science-based theory having both unprecedented descriptive and prescriptive power. While the early Founders of GST focused mostly on the natural sciences and math, the present workers in ISSS mostly ignore the natural sciences and profess that belief in and awareness of systems alone is sufficient to guide applications. This line of research is an antidote to that approach. It will present many more candidate isomorphies than any other extant program of study. It will describe how data is being collected on 110 such candidate isomorphies to fill 26 information categories and produce a massive data base and bibliography. It will add the critically important additional step, not taken by ISSS Founders, of showing how these isomorphies impact and influence each other to achieve systems stability and dynamics (how systems work). It will try to show how such detail can be used to improve systems design, understand the new field of top-down systems pathology (how systems don’t work) to enhance systems repair & curation. It will show how this detail can be used as a stronger, more scientific knowledge base for new fields like sustainability and systems engineering which are themes of this conference. It will also indicate how this overall theory and knowledge base has been used for several funded programs in Systems Education in preparation for a Friday presentation on assessment of those attempts.

Format:
For each hour there will be 40 min of presentation followed immediately by 20 min of open discussion. Lunch will be brought in so that noon to 1 pm can also be used for open discussion. These basics can be supplemented by >17 hours of streaming video. This Pre-conference event will be cancelled if at least seven participants do not contact speaker at lrtroncale@cpp.edu stating intention to attend before the conference.