Pets, Politics and Pandemics

Overview

This course is designed to be a fun and accessible introduction to the topic of systems theory. Systems theory describes a number of fundamental concepts that undergird a broad array of phenomena across many different social, political and natural arenas. It is from this broad applicability that the course derives its title: Pets (social), politics (political and economic) and Pandemics (natural). Despite being, hopefully, fun, the course has a serious intent as it aims to teach enough systems theoretical methods so that after taking the course the student can apply it to their own life to gain new insights into things they may have been studying already for a while. The material within this course can be applied across broad contexts, such as making difficult choices and communicating your ideas effectively to peers. After all, there are indeed strategies for navigating situations in life with the help of lessons from science. In the course, with the help of Professor Billinge's dogs, we will grapple with social justice, climate change, propaganda and disinformation, the origin of the unidirectionality of time and watch some relaxing views of birds flying around with nice music playing.

Syllabus

Getting Started and Course Overview

Welcome to Pets, Politics, and Pandemics! During this week, Professor Simon Billinge provides an overview of the course. You will also view guidelines to support your learning journey towards thinking systematically to navigate everyday life situations.

Life’s Problems, What Is a System, and Who Cares Anyway?

Most of life’s challenges consist of interactions between an individual and different groups, where the group can range from one individual through all of mankind, and indeed non-human groups. This module helps you recognize that essentially all of life’s challenges consist of interactions between an object and different groups of objects that we call a system, where the object can be a person or a thing and the system can range from one object or individual to many objects and groups of individuals throughout all of mankind. During this week's lecture series, we will explore the concept of systems behavior as it relates to such interactions, and its complexities as we apply “force” in an attempt to achieve desired outcomes.

Understanding Scientific Systems

System susceptibility means that the system response is never, in general, completely determined by the applied force. In this sense, systems “have a mind of their own” and it is not possible to control system responses completely. During this week’s lecture series, we will investigate how to work towards getting a desired outcome by changing the applied force, as well as the system’s susceptibility.

Applying your Knowledge to Real World Situations

We have focused on understanding concepts related to the SRFSuP model. Now, it is time to apply what we have learned to real-world situations. During this week’s lecture, we will learn how to differentiate between education and propaganda, the concept of overwhelming force, and how to apply SRFSuP analysis to politicians.

Now It’s Your Turn

Let’s apply the SRFSuP model to everyday life challenges and situations! During this week, we will be able to demonstrate our understanding of navigating life with our secret scientific pills using SRFSuP analyses.