After viewing the film, answer the following prompts and then post thoughtful feedback and comments to two of your peers (you will need to post your submission before you can reply to your peers).

Answer all the questions by posting in the discussion forum AND by video/voice post.

1. What did you learn about systems? (minimum of 150-words)

2. What did you learn about mental models? (minimum of 150-words)

3. Take a moment to reflect on the film. Now, share 3-reflections about the film. For example, what struck you as most interesting about the film and why? (minimum of 150-words)

Peer #1:

1. What did you learn about systems? (minimum of 150-words)

I learned that systems are everywhere. In every aspect of our lives and all around us there are thousands of systems we interact with every day. We never even realize it. These parts of systems make our lives unique because our unique perspectives. No matter the size or complexity of a system they all have a purpose and work together to perform a common task or reach a common goal. Computers for example are an entire system, and each individual part of a computer is a part of a system. Everything from a battery to a hard drive, it all is a part of a unique system which allows us as individuals to do things at a greater level. Computers are also parts in an even larger system. They work together in harmony with other computers, servers, and more to form a part of the internet and allow us as individuals to live in a connected system. I think systems thinking is important especially within an organization because it helps us have the proper perspective on parts of the whole, and the whole being much larger than any one individual part.

1. What did you learn about mental models? (minimum of 150-words)

I learned that mental models are the pictures or models that me make in our own mind of a part of a system or a system as a whole. These are helpful because it allows us to properly visualize systems in ways we would never otherwise be able to. As we put together these mental models our mind better understands systems and gives us a picture of the systems in the world around us and of systems that we interact with. I also learned that mental models are also unique to each individual. We all associate certain experiences or things with an object and that is a part of our own mental model. I associate dogs with pets and fun enjoyable animals, while my dad might not feel the same way because when he was a child he was bitten by a poodle and needed stitches right above his eye. We would both have very different mental models regarding dogs and animals in general.

1. Take a moment to reflect on the film. Now, share 3-reflections about the film. For example, what struck you as most interesting about the film and why? (minimum of 150-words)

What struck me most from the film was that each person’s mental model is unique. We might think well of course we aren’t the same as everyone else. When we consider that there are 7 billion individuals on the earth, and each person associates different things with each thing and that makes their perspective and mental model unique from that of anyone else. Another thing that stuck with me from the video was that our mental models do not just to pertain to our past experiences, but even our ideas and our sensory intake. We all have our own ideas and perceptions of everything, but we also add our senses onto our mental models. I do not like the taste of coffee at all, but I do enjoy the smell of coffee. Many people like both the smell of coffee and its taste. The smell and taste of coffee mean different things to me than to others, but we incorporate so many different things into each of our mental models that we do not even realize. The final thing which struck me from this video was how complex or simple a system can be. Anything as big as our solar system or even a galaxy can be considered a system. There is no limit to the concept of systems and systems thinking.

Peer #2

1.

After listening to the podcasts in this week’s module and after viewing the film, I learned a great deal about some of the technicalities of systems. What I mean by this is that I have never formally learned what features define a system. I have, as all of us have, formed some understanding of what a system is in a general sense. This understanding of systems that I have developed has come through experience with specific systems, such as my experience with Dewey Decimal System, or through learning about various systems in school, such as the solar system. One thing that I learned is how essential the relationship aspects between the parts are to the system. If there is no collaboration between the parts in some way, then the entity we are looking at is not a system at all. To my understanding, the interrelations and collaborations between the parts are what truly makes a system, a system.

2.

I did not know what a mental model was prior to this week’s lessons, so needless to say, I learned a lot from this film. I first learned what a mental model is, in which a mental model is a representation of something in the world that we have made in our minds. We are building mental models all the time. I find it very interesting that even without us being aware of and without our intention, we are still building mental models. These mental models are so influential in each one of our lives because they determine how we feel and act. I was also introduced to the four patterns of systems thinking that build mental models. These patterns are making distinctions, organizing things into systems, identifying relationships, and taking on different perspectives. The second pattern (organizing things into systems) provides a framework for understanding the world, which seems to be an important theme to systems thinking in general.

3.

This film made me think about my own life in a way I have never done before. It made me think about my life from through a systems thinking lens, which I will definitly need a little more time to get used too. Right off the bat the film made me think about thinking, which felt a little funny. I appreciated how the film explained concepts in an easy-to-understand and approachable way. I also appreciated how the video used examples from everyday life to solidify the meaning of the concepts, such as when it provided the example that we build mental models when we go to coffee shops or as we are walking with a friend to show its viewers that mental models are being built all the time. I found it most interesting that these processes of building mental models through the four patterns of thinking are occurring all the time. It is amazing to me that the human brain completes this process and several other processes simultaneously.