I've drawn the picture below as a reaction to the current inclination of prominent #ChangeManagement the(r)orists frowning at "military" style #CommandAndControl or #C2 organizational methods while promoting #FlatOrganizations without #MiddleManagement and with no need for #Planning (everything will change anyway), as a far better, more #Agile way of dealing with #Complexity.
This may be true if the organization is operating and struggling to survive on the left side of this "complexity plane", but if it wants to mature and "get somewhere in life" it better starts aiming for the other side by collecting, documenting and using "lessons learned", planning for and working towards wherever it wants to be in the future.
A momentous recent paper from the most consequential thinker on the matter of the #originoflife, #information, and #biosemiotics has only 124 views and I must be responsible for at least a dozen.
"Folding is entirely a lawful physical process, leaving neither freedom nor necessity for interpretation. Similarly, the initial converse action-to-symbol conversion of sensory inputs also leaves no freedom for interpretation until after the action-to-symbol conversion"
"#Causal #analysis goes one step further than standard #statistical analysis; its aim is to infer not only beliefs or probabilities under #static conditions but also the #dynamics of beliefs under changing conditions, for example, changes induced by treatments or external interventions."
"There is nothing in the joint distribution of symptoms and diseases to tell us that curing the former would or would not cure the latter."
J. Pearl - Causal inference in statistics
Statistics Surveys Vol. 3 (2009)
p. 99
"#Correlation does not imply causation, but #causation implies a specific pattern of correlations, and that must count for something."
"Testing a #hypothesis is actually not so much about trying to confirm it, but about trying to falsify it."
http://www.the100.ci/2022/11/18/causal-inference-hypothesis-testing-all-at-once/
A #control #hierarchy is just the folded "#flow" of #information.
#Causation is #linear, while #control requres #recursive #feedback loops.
It's interesting that Ashby never uses the phrase "control system" in the book. For him, it seems, the #observer is also the (potential) #controller.
Complexity is in the eye of the beholder (observer)
Ashby: "In this book I use the words “very large” to imply that some definite #observer en, with definite resources and techniques, and that the system (is in) some practical way, too large for him; so that he cannot observe completely, or control it completely, or carry out the calculations for prediction completely. In other words, he says the system (is) “very large” if in some way it beats *him* by its richness and #complexity."
p.62
"#Cybernetics might, in fact, be defined as the study of systems that are open to #energy but closed to #information and
control—systems that are “information-tight”."
W. Ross Ashby (1956): An Introduction to Cybernetics, (Chapman & Hall, London): now available electronically.
My latest post - Cybernetics and the Stoics #cybernetics #Stoicism
The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way
https://harishsnotebook.wordpress.com/2022/11/20/cybernetics-and-the-stoics/
In many senses, I find #qoto sets high standards for communication in #fediverse. You have enabled connected services, allowed 65K characters, you have robust policy, we can use markdown in posts, and you are also very welcoming, responsive, and open community!
The 1, 2, 3, and 4 of #dynamical_systems:
1️⃣ one #system with a purpose
2️⃣ two #processes (linear work and recursive growth)
3️⃣ three #functions (selection, storage, and production)
4️⃣ four #variables (disturbance, difference, control, and output)
#Kihbernetics is the study of #Complex #Dynamical #Systems with #Memory which is very different from all other #SystemsThinking approaches. Kihbernetic theory and principles are derived primarily from these three sources:
1️⃣ #CE_Shannon's theory of #Information and his description of a #Transducer,
2️⃣ #WR_Ashby's #Cybernetics and his concept of #Transformation, and
3️⃣ #HR_Maturana's theory of #Autopoiesis and the resulting #Constructivism
Although applicable to any dynamical system with memory (mechanisms, organisms, or organizations) we developed our Kihbernetic worldview mostly to help people navigate their #organization through times of #change.
We define* an organization as:
"An integrated composite of people, products, and processes that provide a capability to satisfy a stated need or objective."
*Definition of the word "system" in MIL_STD_499B
#People are at the forefront of our thinking (the #who and #why are we doing this for and/or with?).
We then focus our efforts on understanding all the functions or #Processes in your organization (#how and #when something happens or has to happen?).
Finally, we get to analyze the #Products and/or services that you put on the market but are mostly interested in the tools that you use or may need to buy or develop in order to fully integrate your production system (the plan for #what and #where things will happen?).
Our goal is to make the people of your organization self-reliant to the point that they shouldn't need our assistance with the continuous maintenance and adaptation of the system.
In any case, we've got your back while you do the heavy lifting of establishing a better future for your organization!