Prior to taking SYSE 515, I used to think that Systems Engineering was limited to the physical, mechanical, and mathematical realms, but now I know that it indeed, encompasses areas such as Operational Strategy, Managerial Economics, Microeconomics, Political Science, Urban Dynamics, and socio-organic, non-linear dynamic systems. In particular, I was captivated by the perspectives/works of Jay Wright Forrester (Father of System Dynamics), Gordon Brown (feedback control mechanisms), and legendary System Scientist Karl Popper, whose keen perspective and paradoxical quotations immediately captivated my interest. However, it was from the work of Forrester during his time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School which I truly experienced a new perspective and deeper understanding of what Systems Engineering is. Systems Engineering is not merely an understanding of an electrical or mechanical system, but a deep, multispectral, introspection of any organized ontology of similar pieces, parts, segments, aspects, elements, people, and the list goes on and on. It is a deep study of interfaces, dependencies, and most of all, the essence of cause-and-effect. System Dynamics taught me that causalities and feed-back loops can be seen in everything and are everywhere, much like the systems in which they are attributed to. Consider that the very first Systems Modeling Language (SysML) was Simulation of Industrial Management Problems (SIMPLE), written by Richard Bennett in 1958 and subsequently computer-modeled by Forrester. This work was critical for developing the basic framework for Engineering Control Theory, Feedback-Loop Theory, and counter-intuitive behavior in dynamic, non-linear systems. Furthermore, Forrester’s work in itself birthed completely new perspectives in the field of Management Science such as Industrial Dynamics and Behaviors in Organic Social Systems (Lane, 2008, pg. 6-24). I used to think that analysis was the key to understanding, but now I know that it is in observation that we, as engineers/scientists can most readily gain meaningful insights into the workings of complex systems.

                “The thing in itself is unknowable: we can only know its appearances which are to be understood as resulting in the thing itself, and from our own perceiving apparatus (Popper, 2002, pg. 476).”

-Karl Popper

Above: Forrester examining an electrostatic discharge tube. Courtesy of Systems Dynamics Review (Lange, 2008, pg. 9)

Lange, D. C. (2008). The Power of the Bond Between Cause and Effect: Jay Wright Forrester and the Field of System Dynamics. System Dynamics Review, 23(2-3), 1-34. https://systemdynamics.org/wp-content/uploads/assets/jay-w-forrester/JWForresterBio.pdf

Popper, K. (2002). The logic of scientific discovery (2nd ed.). Routledge.