Paradox

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Paradox

• Systems Thinking at its Best or at its Worst
• 2008 IEEE SoSE Conference
• Monterey, California
• John Wirsbinski
• PhD Candidate/Senior Member of Technical Staff
• Stevens Institute of Technology/Sandia National
  Laboratories

Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by
Sandia Corporation, a Lockheed Martin
Company,for the United States Department of
Energys National Nuclear Security
Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.
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Outline

• Introduction
• Soft Systems Methodology
• Analysis
• Conclusion
• Implications for SoSE
• Future Research

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Introduction

• Motivation
• What is paradoxical thinking?
• Is paradoxical thinking really systems thinking
  at its best?
• Is paradoxical thinking useful as a systems
  thinking method
• As a problem Structuring and consensus tool?
• As a critical thinking tool?
• What are the implications for SoSE?
• Analysis Methods
• Soft Systems Methods
• Systemic Diagrams

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Checklands Soft Systems Methodology
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Boardmans Soft Systems Methodology
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Paradox Definition

• A paradox is an apparent contradiction however
  things are not always as they seem. A Paradox can
  be explained, but only by seeking wisdom from
  above for the systems guy this is to look up and
  out, not just down and in. Paradoxical thinking
  is systems thinking at its best.

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Paradox Systemmigram
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Checklands Soft Systems Methodology
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First Root Definition of Paradoxical Thinking

• Consider a situation in which a person observes a
  contradiction and attempts to resolve it within
  the constraints of a system boundary. In
  addition, the person is unconscious of the
  system therefore, the persons thinking is
  constrained by the system boundary. When the
  contradiction cannot be resolved within the
  bounds of the system, the person concludes that
  the problem is irresolvable and declares the
  contradiction a paradox. Under these
  circumstances paradoxical thinking is a thought
  process whereby a person views paradoxes as real
  and irresolvable it is the antithesis of systems
  thinking.

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Systemmigram of Root Definition 1
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2nd Root Definition of Paradoxical Thinking

• Consider a situation in which a person observes a
  contradiction and attempts to resolve it within
  the constraints of a system boundary. The person
  is conscious of the system therefore, the person
  can think inside or outside the system boundary.
  When the contradiction cannot be resolved within
  the system, the person recognizes the
  contradiction is a paradox. The person then
  applies the lessons of Kurt Gödel and seeks to
  find resolution to the contradiction in a larger
  system context. Thus paradoxical thinking uses
  paradoxes as signals indicating a need for
  expanding boundaries and thinking outside the
  current system it is the epitome of systems
  thinking.

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Systemmigram of Root Definition 2
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Checklands Soft Systems Methodology
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Model Comparisons
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Comparison Observations

• Model Comparison showed two distinguishing
  features
• The persons cognizance of the system
• The relationship between paradoxical thinking and
  the system boundary

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Is Paradoxical Thinking Systems Thinking at its
Best?
Paradoxical thinking is itself paradoxical in
nature
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Implications for SoSE

• SoSE involves systems with multiple, independent
  purposes
• These purposes may be in conflict
• SoS purpose may rely on emergence to address
  problems for which it was never designed
• What does it mean to look upwards and outwards
  for an SoS?

Paradoxical thinking may provide one framework
(view) for structuring the SoSE problem
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Future Research

• Formally define Paradoxical Thinking
• What are the fundamental principles upon which
  paradoxical thinking operates?
• What are the steps of paradoxical thinking?
• How does one teach or demonstrate mastery of
  paradoxical thinking?
• What tools can be developed to help with the
  recognition and resolution of paradoxes?
• What is the time dependence of paradox?
• What is the spatial dependence of paradox?
• Can different architectural (e.g., temporal,
  logical, etc.) views and representations be used
  to resolve paradoxes?
• Assuming that paradoxical thinking does not
  require explicit cognizance of the system
  boundaries, is this valuable in SoSE where it may
  be impossible to precisely characterize the
  boundary?
• Koans as a metaphor for paradoxical thinking

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Questions