Is it a system or a bunch of stuff

A four-part test for whether you are looking at a system.

Donella Meadows's framework, from Thinking in Systems, pp. 23 to 92.

Can you identify parts?
Name the elements.
Do the parts affect each other?
Look for interconnections.
Do the parts together produce an effect different from each part alone?
Test for emergent behaviour.
Does the behaviour persist in a variety of circumstances?
Check that the pattern lasts.

From chapter: Part One: System Structure and Behavior, pp. 23–92

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