Dr Terence Love presented the third ANZSYS Conversations session on Can you feel it? Yes we can! Human limitations in Systems theories and practices. on 4 November 1920.
Terence described the 2 Feedback Loop limitation on human system thinking abilities that emerged from his research and how this presents a significant challenge to the validity of many system thinking methods including Soft Systems Methodology and Beer's VSM as well as all approaches to participative, consultative or stakeholder-based systems methods.
Terence also drew attention to his research finding that many individuals have a deep self-delusion that they can understand, predict or intuit the behaviours and outcomes of systems with 2 or more feedback loops. The existence of this delusion is easily proven by testing individuals predictions against known outcomes for systems with 2 or more feedback loops. The widespread nature of this delusion also provides deep challenges to systems methods that involve consultation or participation in design of systems.