Thinking in Systems: A Primer (2008), Appendix (summary)
“In complex systems cause and effect are often not closely related in either time or space. The structure of a complex system is not a simple feedback loop where one system state dominates the behavior. The complex system has a multiplicity of interacting feedback loops. Its internal rates of flow are controlled by nonlinear relationships. The complex system is of high order, meaning that there are many system states (or levels). It usually contains positive-feedback loops describing growth processes as well as negative, goal-seeking loops. In the complex system the cause of a difficulty may lie far back in time from the symptoms, or in a completely different and remote part of the system. In fact, causes are usually found, not in prior events, but in the structure and policies of the system.”
Source: Urban dynamics (1969), p. 9
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Jay Wright Forrester 7
American operations researcher 1918–2016Related quotes
Source: Principles of Systems (1968), p. 4-1 as cited in: Richardson, George P. " Reflections on the foundations of system dynamics http://obssr.od.nih.gov/issh/2012/files/Richardson%202011.pdf." System Dynamics Review 27.3 (2011): 219-243.
Source: Complexity and Postmodernism (1998), p. ix
Source: An Introduction to Cybernetics (1956), Part I: Mechanism, p. 54 as cited in: Margaret A. Bode (2006) Mind as Machine: A History of Cognitive Science, Volume 1. p.229

The Third Culture: Beyond the Scientific Revolution (1995)
As cited in: Joseph E. Kasser (2010) " Seven systems engineering myths and the corresponding realities http://www.synergio.nl/media/59286/7_myths_of_se.pdf"
Towards a System of Systems Methodologies (1984)
Source: Complexity and Postmodernism (1998), p. 3; as cited in: Richard Andrews, Erik Borg, Stephen Boyd Davis (2012), The SAGE Handbook of Digital Dissertations and Theses, p. 129

Michael Halliday (2005, p. 68) as cited in: Andrew Halliday and Marion Glaser (2011) "A Management Perspective on Social Ecological Systems". In: Human Ecology Review, Vol. 18, No. 1, 2011.
1970s and later
Source: Enterprise modeling within an enterprise engineering framework (1996), p. 993