POSIWID (the purpose of the system is what it does) is a way of thinking about complex systems, giving us a different perspective on a range of social and political issues.
When we understand the complex loops that maintain the status quo, we are better equipped to make positive changes in organizations and society.
The origins of POSIWID thinking
Diagnosing the System for Organizations
Amazon Price: (as of 02/09/2010) 
Have Fun at Work
Amazon Price: (as of 02/09/2010)
Friends in High Places
Amazon Price: (as of 02/09/2010)
New Plague
Amazon Price: (as of 02/09/2010)
Recent books that use POSIWID thinking
Trust and Mistrust: Radical Risk Strategies in Business Relationships
Amazon Price: $85.00 (as of 02/09/2010)
Systems Biology: Philosophical Foundations
Amazon Price: $104.00 (as of 02/09/2010)
Intelligent Organizations: Powerful Models for Systemic Management
Amazon Price: (as of 02/09/2010)
The Ownership Solution: Toward A Shared Capitalism For The Twenty-first Century
Amazon Price: (as of 02/09/2010)
Articles and blogs exploring POSIWID
- Memetix
- "Although it is dangerous to use the POSIWID principle to infer intent on the part of individual actors in a system, it is useful for analyzing the emergent behavior of a system. It certainly cuts through a lot of crap about unintended consequences."
- The One Percenters
- "Learn to separate beguiling economic theory from real world facts by applying an acronym from systems theory: POSIWID. Taking America as a starting point, how has the consensus treated its wealthiest one percent? What has it done?"
- Life Support Systems
- Interventions in Complex Socio-Technical Systems,
by Michael Jacobs and Aidan Ward
Internet Resources
blogs and wikis
- POSIWID blog
- Topical applications of POSIWID thinking by John Smith, Richard Veryard and Aidan Ward
- POSIWID wiki
- Notes towards a POSIWID book by Amicus Rex
- POSIWID links
- various items tagged "POSIWID"
Approach
If a complex system produces a given outcome, or if a given outcome emerges from a complex system, then we may assume some purpose linked to this outcome.
This is a useful guide for investigation and interpretation. Ignore the official purpose of the system, ignore what the designers and custodians of a system say, and concentrate on its actual behaviour.
Conversely, if there is some unexplained pattern of behaviour, look for a system whose purpose this pattern reveals. (We often can't see the system directly, but we infer its hidden presence because this helps to make sense of some observed pattern of behaviour.)
Critique
Many users of the POSIWID principle seem to assume that system scope and behaviour is unproblematic - that outcomes can be unambiguously attributed to some system or other.
A complex system apparently produces a diverse set of outcomes. According to the POSIWID principle, all these outcomes may be identified as purposes. A complex system typically contains many conflicting or contradictory purposes.
Many of the purposes of a system cannot be observed in its normal behaviour because they are contingent purposes - the behaviours may only appear in extreme circumstances.
Furthermore, some behaviours are generated by the interference between many systems. It is of course possible to frame the interference within a larger system, whose purpose is presumably to generate this interference and its effects, but this framing is not generally a useful one.
Related Lenses
-
Baroque (design style)
-
"All manner of thing shall be well/ When the tongues of flame are in-folded/ Into the crowned knot of fire/ And the fire and the rose are one." -- T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding The Baroque Style has been popular at certain times in history....
-
Functionalism (design style)
-
There are two sets of functionalist attitudes and working methods, some relating to how we understand the world (analysis), and some relating to how we change it (design). These are to some extent independent.
-
What are friends for?
-
People sometimes say "what are friends for?" in response to thanks - as if to say "don't mention it". So the question "what are friends for" is a familiar one. But if we take it seriously, it is also an uncomfortable one. It carries the sug...
Logical Foundations of POSIWID
What makes backwards reasoning valid?
POSIWID represents a kind of backwards reasoning - - from effects to cause. Various philosophers and logicians have discussed whether this kind of reasoning can ever be justified. Vote here for your favourite backwardian.
Final Cause
Aristotle0 points
Engineering
Stafford Beer0 points
mini keg dispensers
Keg Accessories Depot is the source for high quali more...0 points
Home bar supplies
Beer keg accessories and home bar supplies for tho more...0 points
Reader Feedback
-
Reply
- Chris Bird Chris Bird Mar 30, 2009 @ 8:06 am
- The "Purpose" in POSIWID is an unfortunate use of the term. Purpose implies a look forward a view into the future. However in POSIWID the idea is to look backwards. Just because someone uses a screwdriver to stir paint doesn't make paint stirring a purpose of a screwdriver. It does make it a use and it is interesting to explore why it is used that way, but that isn't a purpose.
Some reasons why people might choose a screwdriver to stir the paint include:
They didn't have anything else
The screwdriver was going to be harmed less than the pen
They were too lazy/inform to pick up the stirrer that was on the ground - the screwdriver was easier
They wanted to annoy the screwdriver's owner
Because the stirrer was dirty and the screwdriver clean
When wanting to understand the reasons why it is very valuable to go from effect to cause (think root-cause analysis appraaches), and don't expect to find only one.
Blog Posts from Google
this week's search term: "Unintended Consequences"
- The Baurer Blog: Unintended Consequences
- Unintended Consequences. (this is what Phil read to the kids at supper tonight) This man was in an accident (work accident -- not car accident), so he filled out an insurance claim. The insurance company contacted him and asked for more ...
- Florida 2010: Charlie Crist, Marco Rubio, Alex Sink and the Law of ...
- Florida 2010: Charlie Crist, Marco Rubio, Alex Sink and the Law of Unintended Consequences. Posted: 02/8/10. 23 Comments +. Join the discussion ». TEXT SIZE:AAA. PRINT PRINT. SHARE SHARE. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. ...
- Down the Backstretch: Unintended Consequences
- They're often called unintended consequences or hidden messages, but when the topic is doping in sports they play a major role. When Ben Johnson was caught using steroids in Seoul in 1988, the message the anti doping community hoped to ...
- [Dailies] Unintended Consequences - Blog – FWD:labs
- I think we're consistently making things for other reasons. Sometimes, after they're put to bed, there's a long tail of opportunity to find its true audience.
POSIWID on Twitter
-
- Bricoleur
- RT @richardveryard: What if architects designed our communities?: @juliandobson #bloggerscircle http://bit.ly/aYqO6k #posiwid
-
- dale_vile
- @richardveryard The argument that religious person = good person doesn't stand up to much scrutiny #posiwid
-
- dale_vile
- RT @richardveryard: ... Complaint against Cherie Booth QC by the National Secular Society: http://bit.ly/c591fo #posiwid << Quite right
-
- roygrubb
- RT @richardveryard: A complaint has been lodged against Cherie Booth QC by the National Secular Society fo... http://bit.ly/c591fo #posiwid
-
- richardveryard
- Religious Exchange: A complaint has been lodged against Cherie Booth QC by the National Secular Society fo... http://bit.ly/c591fo #posiwid
-
- richardveryard
- What if architects designed our communities?: @juliandobson #bloggerscircle Another random blogpost with a... http://bit.ly/aYqO6k #posiwid
Explore related pages
Alternative Learning Systems & Experimental Education- Public schools perform much worse at edifying students than private or home scho...
Famous Greek Quotes- Most people can’t point where Greece is on the map; some even believe that...
Outcome Relationship Modelling- So often we think in blinkered terms, linear cause and effect: "If this happens,...
General Systems Theory- The notion of a system may be seen as simply a more self-conscious and generic t...
Play
