How to think
like a 5-year-old
Why systems engineers are needed to design the future
The world is made up of overlapping, intertwined & connected systems
Image: INCOSE 2025 Vision
The challenges facing humanity are interdependent
Image: INCOSE 2025 Vision
Traditional Thinking
“Divide and Conquer”
Disciplinary thinking up to the early 20th century
i.e. Mechanical engineering
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Connected Thinking
“Interfaces”
Cross-disciplinary thinking of the late 20th Century
i.e. Mechatronics engineering
Integrated Thinking
“Dynamic Interactions”
Interdisciplinary thinking of the early 21st Century
i.e. Mechanical, Electrical, Software, AI
Image: Amazon robots at fulfullment centre. Maryland GovPics on Flikr
Emergent Thinking
“Unknown Possibilities”
Emergent systems thinking of tomorrow
i.e. Socio-Technical Engineers
Image: A crowded street in Delhi on a working day. Photo credits: Dilip Kumar Das.
Systems thinking is required to understand tomorrow’s complex problems
Thinking about complexity
