To Solve Social Problems, We Need A Different STEM

The world has become more complex and less safe even though the last several decades have seen rapid advancement in science and technologies and increasing global economic development and growth. We are now facing challenging threats from global warming, terrorism, identity theft, cyber attacks, racial and religious conflicts, income inequality and social injustice, and many more.

What is puzzling is that as a human race we were able to send spaceships and astronauts to the outer space and we invented Internet, mobile devices, and social media networks to instantly connect people worldwide but we are still not able to resolve our differences and conflicts. More sadly, we still resort to bloody wars and sufferings of innocents for settling disputes and achieving peace the same way it has been for thousands of years.

Apparently, the STEM as it stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math alone does not solve human problems. The advancement in STEM does not directly lead to solutions of human problems and does not directly translate into the betterment of humanity. Even though people enjoy the benefits of what STEM brings to their daily lives, they continue to suffer from stress and anxiety from deteriorating environments, declining health, broken relationships, and physical and financial threats.

It may be time to look at alternatives. How about a different kind of STEM?

This one stands for Systems Thinking, Engagement, and Mindfulness.

First, system thinking is a paradigm shift. We can no longer look at problems in isolation. We are much more interconnected and interdependent at many aspects and at many levels now than ever. All problems are correlated and affect each other whether we see the relationships or not.  We don't just examine and solve one problem. We have to examine and solve all problems together in a systemic way.

In addition to treating problems as systems with a holistic and panoramic lenses, we must devise potential solutions with systemic approaches. There is no single approach or solution to problems. We have to evaluate multiple alternatives. Alternative approaches don't necessarily compete with each other but rather they complement each other. Science and technology are not the only solutions, they are part of the more comprehensive and overarching solutions. Science and technology alone are not able to solve social problems. Humanity has to be considered as a key component in the solutions.

It is actually part of the problem that we give the traditional STEM too much attention and value. Many young talents are attracted to the STEM fields with the promise of better career and higher income. Businesses touts countless innovations to gain competitive advantage and to maximize corporate profits and shareholder returns. The subjects of humanity such as arts, music, languages, cultures, religions, and history are neglected and undervalued. The imbalance between science and humanity limits our options and our abilities to solve multi-faceted social problems.

The E in the new STEM stands for Engagement. The top down, command and control approach of problem solving from traditional management textbook no long works in the modern complex world. To solve problems, we need to engage stakeholders at all levels at all times. Engagement brings about multiple views, alternative ways of thinking, and better solutions. Engagement is really a part of system thinking. To gain system perspective, we have to engage everyone.

The M in the new STEM stands for Mindfulness. Mindfulness is a Buddhist concept and practice followed by millions of followers for thousands of years and have been adopted by the west for the past many decades for its benefits in improving both physical and mental health. Buddhism believes that human sufferings originate from ignorance which is the incorrect view of the reality and of ourselves and instructs its followers to clam and cleanse their mind by focusing on the present moment and paying close attention to ourselves and our surroundings without forcing and judging. Regular practices of mindfulness will help reduce and eventually eliminate the ignorance and hence bring us back to full awareness, enlightenment, wisdom, and happiness.

If engagement is about collective wisdom, then mindfulness is about individual wisdom. Collective wisdom relies on individual wisdom.  They go hand in hand just like the parts and the whole in the systems thinking.

(Picture source: http://missioncollege.edu/student_services/stem/images/STEM-Logo1.jpg)

Mindfulness for Systems Thinkers

Systems thinking is more than thinking. It starts with seeing and ends at doing. Thinking is only the intermediate step. We don't just think for the sake of thinking, we think in order to solve problems. But if we don't see the problems clearly first, we will not be able to think of them critically. Poor seeing and thinking will eventually lead to undesirable actions and ineffective solutions.

Mindfulness is about seeing. It brings our mind back from distractions and disturbances and keeps it fully aware of ourselves and our surroundings at the present moment and from moment to moment. This awareness grounds us on the matters, their relationships, and the fine details here and now so that we can see with our senses and our mind the reality in a brighter light and a fuller view.

Mindfulness is also about acceptance. We observe ourselves, others around us, and our surrounding environments with full attention and unconditional empathy without prejudice and judgement. We accept what it is. Acceptance leads to better understanding and appreciation of the reality. Acceptance helps us gain more objective mental models of the reality. Mental models are foods for thoughts. While our thinking tends to be subjective, objective inputs to our thought process can help alleviate the inherent limitation of the subjectivity.

Mindfulness is rooted in Buddhism and has been practiced by its followers for thousands of years. Over the past several decades, this ancient Eastern religious practice has been adopted worldwide including the west. Many researches have documented both the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness. The regular practices of mindfulness have been proven effective in helping people alleviate sufferings and achieve happiness.

A happier mind sees better, thinks better and acts better.

(Source of picture: https://www.uhs.umich.edu/files/uhs/field/image/Mindfulness.jpg)

The Iceberg Model of Mind

In 1976, American anthropologist Edward T. Hall developed the Iceberg Analogy of Culture in his book "Beyond Culture".  He used iceberg as a metaphor to illustrate the complexity of culture. He reasoned that a culture has two aspects. One is external, visible, conscious and the other is internal, invisible, and subconscious. A culture is like an iceberg where the part above the water is visible and only constitutes a small portion of it (roughly 10%) and the part underneath the surface is invisible and constitutes the majority of it (roughly 90%). In order to understand a culture, one has to dive deep and get close to it.

In 1973, Chinese archaeologists uncovered four silk manuscripts of previously unknown works along with the well known Tao Te Ching when they excavated "Tomb Number 3" (dated back to 168 BCE) in an archaeological site in Hunan province (ancient state of Chu).

These four texts collectively are thought to reflect a branch of Taoism and provide new insights into the Taoist philosophy. The first text is the longest with about 5000 Chinese characters and is titled "The Constancy of Law".

One paragraph from the first text is particularly interesting and can be thought of as the ancient equivalence of the modern iceberg model.

The original text in Chinese:

道者，神明之原也。神明者，处于度之内而见於度之外者也。处於度之（内）者，不言而信。见于度之外者，言而不可易也。处于度之内者，静而不可移也。见于度之外者，动而□不可化也。动而静而不移，动而不化，故曰神。神明者，见知之稽也。

The translation in English (by the author):

The Tao gives birth to the Mind.  The Mind has internal virtues and external manifestations. The internal virtues are unspeakable yet authentic. The external manifestations may be described but not be misinterpreted.  The internal virtues are tranquil and undisturbed. The external manifestations are moving but unwavering. From moving to tranquil free of disturbance, moving yet unwavering, it is the divine mystery of the Mind. The Mind is the source of knowledge and wisdom.

Like culture, mind is a complex adaptive system. At the surface are the manifestations through languages, speeches,  emotions, and behaviors. These manifestations originate from our conscious mind and are visible and comprehensible. Below the surface are our mental models of the reality, our ideas and believes, our values and thought processes. These form our unconscious mind and are invisible and difficult to grasp.

Great minds think alike. The iceberg model of mind from ancient Chinese sages remarkably parallels the iceberg model of culture from the modern American anthropologist,  more than 2000 years apart.

Is there a deeper connection between mind and culture other than the fact that they both share the same iceberg model? Underlying a culture are people and the essence of a person is his or her mind. May we simplify a culture as a system of individual minds?

Systems Thinking in Buddhism

Buddhism is more than a religion. It is also philosophy and psychology. Some even claim it is science.

At the core of its teachings are ways of seeing the true reality of the phenomenal world, understanding the root causes of the human sufferings, and achieving the enlightenment and eternal happiness through practices of kindness and mindfulness.

Three Universal Truths of Buddhism

One of the fundamental concepts of Buddhism is the Three Universal Truths or Three Dharma Seals(Tri-drsti-namitta-mudrā in Sanskrit or 三法印 in Chinese）.  It summarizes the many Buddhist teachings at a deeper, higher and more abstract level and also serves as the benchmarks to validate whether a teaching or a practice adheres to the Buddhist ideology.

The First Universal Truth is called "Impermanence" ("Anitya" in Sanskrit, "无常" or "诸行无常" in Chinese) . It can be interpreted as "All phenomena are impermanent".

The Second Universal Truth is "Non-self" ("Anatman" in Sanskrit，"无我" or "诸法无我" in Chinese）. It can be interpreted as "Selfness is a fleeing phenomenon and hence is non-existent."

The Third Universal Truth is "Liberation"（"Nirvana" in Sanskrit, "涅槃" or "涅槃寂静" in Chinese). It can be interpreted as "Human beings can be forever freed from endless sufferings through mindfulness and enlightenment" .

Here we see clear parallel between the 2500 year old ancient Eastern Buddhist thinking and the less than century old modern Western systems thinking.

Buddhism sees the world as a complex system in which many constantly changing and evolving phenomena interact with each other. The world as a whole constantly changes and evolves as causes and effects are interwoven and emergent properties and behaviors come and go like non-stop running water. Buddhism advises its followers to have a right view of the world and not to be fooled by the human tendency of desiring a constant and fixed reality.

Buddhism also sees the human beings as complex systems and are an integral part of the world and advises its followers to have a right view of ourselves and not to be fooled by our egos which are really non-coherent, non-existent, and fleeting phenomena. Our thoughts are based on the static mental models of the dynamic world and hence do not represent the true reality. Our minds are the obstacles to the right views of the complex world and only the practices of mindfulness can remove the ignorance and indulging desires and save us from endless sufferings.

What you see if what you think. What you think is what you act. Before you can act systemically you have to think systemically. Before you can think systemically you have to see systemically.

The Humility of A Systems Thinker

There are two core principles of systems thinking that are fundamental for systems thinkers.

First, a systems thinker must recognize the limitation of his or her senses and mind.

The Blind Men and The Elephant

We only see what our eyes can see, smell what our noses can smell, hear what our ears can hear, touch what we our hands can touch. What we see, smell, hear, and touch only provides us partial image of the truth and the whole. The ancient Indian story of the blind men and the elephant elegantly explained this phenomena.

Our mind is also limited since it relies on our senses for information. Our mental model of the truth and the whole is incomplete and imperfect. Hence, our thinking is not completely correct or objective, and our actions driven by our thinking is not completely right or effective.

Human beings are not perfect, we don't know everything. So the most important virtue of a systems thinker is humility. Recognize our limitation and respect the reality, complexity, and uncertainty.

Secondly, it is perfect to be imperfect.

It is all right not to know the entire truth. It is fine to have unknown mysteries. If human mind has the power and psychic to know everything, then there is no complexity, no uncertainty, no mystery. Hence, there is no beauty of life and no need for systems thinking as a discipline and no need for systems thinkers as problem solvers.

So be humble and embrace complexity and uncertainty.

Two Dimensions of Systems Thinking

We live in the confine of  space and time. Our thinking naturally encompasses these two dimensions accordingly. The spatial dimension focuses on the structure while the temporal dimension focuses on the evolution.

Systems thinking as a discipline started out with the emphasis on system structure - the parts, the relationships, the hierarchy, and the whole. The foundation of systems thinking is holistic thinking which is about the spatial dimension of a system.

The temporal dimension of systems thinking has become more and more important in recent years as the world has become more and more complex plagued with mounting intractable problems. Scholars and scientists started investigating the ecological, social, political, and cultural systems which are much more complex than typical engineered systems such as mechanical, electrical, or information systems.

To solve social problems, it is not sufficient to just look at the present structure of the social system. One has to investigate the past, analyze the present and envision the future. We all desire a stable society that can sustain over time. Stability and sustainability reflect the two dimensions of systems thinking.

In addition, solving social problems requires much more than a surgical approach based on the spatial dimension of systems thinking. It requires an evolutionary and adaptive approach based on the temporal dimension of systems thinking.

While spatial dimension of systems thinking focuses on structural analysis and synthesis, temporal dimension of systems thinking looks deeper to understand the origin, the purpose, and the evolution of the systems, the root causes of the problems, the vision for future, and the meaning and means to effect the changes.

All Roads Lead to Rome

Modern western systems thinking was developed from the advancement and convergence of various scientific disciplines such as physics, chemistry, and biology and various engineering disciplines such as mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and industrial engineering. It was developed as an alternative to the reductionist approach of analyzing the parts and aggregating the results.

Ancient eastern systems thinking was formed naturally from ground up as a holistic approach several thousands of years ago by simply observing the Universe, the Nature, and the society.  The scholars and sages reached at systems thinking via personal reflection, meditation, and self-cultivation. They did not enjoy the help and paradoxically suffer the hindering of modern science, technology, and engineering. They started with a holistic view point at the very beginning.

Even though all roads lead to Rome, depending on which path they take,  people arrive with different experiences and different personalities.

Modern western systems thinking came loaded with methods and tools that were the influences of reductionist approach. Modern well-educated people believed that these methods and tools are the key to solve complex modern problems.

Ancient eastern systems thinking came with very few luggage. It only brought simple teachings, fundamental principles, and intriguing ideas. It believed that in order to see the true world, you have to remove barriers between your mind and the reality.  You don't need more tools, you just need less obstacles. You need to experience it, not analyze it.

Three Equations of System Thinking

Systems thinking can be described with three equations.

Equation #1: The Whole = The Sum of The Parts

This is the nature of a simple system.
For example, a bag of sands or a waiting line at the grocery checkout counter is a simple system.
This type of systems is too simplistic to require any inquiry into its purposes, functions, properties, and inner working. So it is really not in the domain of systems thinking.

Equation #2: The Whole < The Sum of The Parts

This is the nature of a convoluted or failed system.
For example, a dysfunctional family, an ineffective team, a society in turmoil, or an information system that failed to satisfy its user's needs. Too many modern social, political, and economical systems are considered convoluted or failed systems with too many interlocking problems. 

Equation #3: The Whole > The Sum of The Parts

This is the nature of a complicated or complex system.
For example, a tree,  a happy family, a high performing team, a harmonious society, or a well designed information system that meets the user's needs and improve their efficiency and effectiveness.

The Whole

A system can be simply defined as a whole. A system is a whole. Period.

Any additional words or sentences will break the whole. The moment we start describing the individual parts within the whole, the relationship and interactions between the parts,  the relationship and interactions between the parts and the whole, and the relationship and the interactions between the whole and its surroundings, the whole shatters and its existence disappears.

Tao Te Ching Verse #1

The Tao Te Ching（道德经), the classic teachings of the Taoism written 2500 years ago,  begins with a very short but profound sentence "The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao" (道可道，非常道).

In Taoism, the Tao is the Way, the Ultimate Reality, or the Ultimate Truth.

In modern concept, the Tao can be thought of the System. A system can be a concrete thing as big as the Universe, the Earth, or as small as a human being, a tree, or an ant. It can be an abstract thing such as a school of thoughts, a religion, a culture, or a society.

The Tao as the System is a whole. It can not be fully described in words. It can not be completely communicated in bits and bytes. It has to be experienced. Even the human experience has the limitation of being able to "see" the whole.

Peter Senge concluded his best selling book "The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of The Learning Organization" with a short chapter titled "Indivisible Whole" in which he told the story of American astronaut Rusty Schweickart and his experience of  looking at the Earth from far out in the space.

Rusty Schweickart described his experience:

“Up there you go around every hour and a half, time after time after time. As you eat breakfast you look out the window and there’s the Mediterranean area, and Greece, and Rome, and North Africa, and the Sinai. And you realize in one glance that what you’re seeing is what was the whole history of man for years- the cradle of civilization. And you think of all the history you can imagine looking at the scene.

......

And that identity – that you identify with Houston, and then you identify with Los Angeles and Phoenix and New Orleans and everything. And the next thing you recognize in yourself, is you’re identifying with North Africa. You look forward to that, you anticipate it. And there it is. That whole process begins to shift what it is you identify with. You begin to recognize that your identity is with the whole thing. And that makes a change.

You look down there and you can imagine how many borders and boundaries you crossed again and again and again. And you don’t even see ‘em. You know there are thousands of people killing each other over some imaginary line that you can’t see. From where you see it, the thing is a whole, and it’s so beautiful. And you wish you could take one from each side in hand and say, “Look at it from this perspective. Look at that. What’s important?”

......

Peter Senge concluded that

Floating in the space, Rusty discovered the first principles of systems thinking. But he discovered them in a way that few of us ever do - not at a rational or intellectual level but at a level of direct experience.

So, the whole is indivisible, indescribable and has to be experienced.

Systems Thinking: How Ancient Chinese Think

The concept of systems thinking was first developed by a modern western scholar, the MIT professor Jay Forrester, in 1956 when he established the field of systems dynamics. At the core of systems thinking is the concept of holism or holistic view. The term "Holism" was first coined by the British army general and South African statesman J. C. Smuts  in his book "Holism and Evolution" published in 1926. Smuts defined holism as "underlies synthetic tendency in the universe, and is the principle which makes for the origin and progress of wholes in the universe".

While systems thinking benefited from the advances in modern sciences such as physics, chemistry and biology and emerged from the reductionist approach of analyzing the parts and aggregating the results less than a century ago, ancient Chinese had already formed the concept of systems thinking three thousand years back by observing the nature and the society, practicing meditation, and applying intuition.

The I Ching (易经）, or the Book of Changes, developed 3000 years ago by ancient Chinese scholars , explained how the world is composed of many different parts and how the parts relate to and interact with each other to form the ever changing, dynamic but orderly universe. Generations of Chinese used this book and its divination techniques to gain insights and wisdom into the universe and the society, and to manage their personal lives and family affairs.

The binary system used in the modern computer science can be traced back to I Ching. In I Ching, a broken or dashed line represents Yin（阴） or 0, and a solid or closed line represents Yang （阳） or 1.  Yin and Yang are the basic elements of the universe. Eight trigrams (卦） representing eight different but related elements are formed when three lines are stacked together (2 x 2 x 2 = 8). When two trigrams are stacked together, sixty four hexagrams （卦） are formed (8 x 8 = 64) which help to gain more granular insight into the world. This was essentially a modern 64 bit computing system.

Two major Chinese philosophies Taoism（道） and Confucian（儒） were established based on the foundation of the I Ching. The Taoism focused on the observation of the nature, the appreciation of its beauty and mystery, and the following of its laws and virtues. The Confucian on the other hand focused on the study of  the societal structure, the roles and responsibilities each individual should play and take in order to keep the society in harmony and prosperity.

Some fundamental principles of systems thinking are reflected in the ancient Chinese philosophy, religion, and culture but are not commonly recognized or emphasized  in western style of systems thinking.

For example, the concept of self-cultivation (修身）. An essential part of the self-cultivation is sacrifice. It is assumed that in order to have an optimized whole, some level of sacrifice from the parts are required. This is very much evident in the Confucianism. Sacrificing one's individual interests and welfare for the well-being of others and the harmony of the family, the community and ultimately the society is the most respected and honored virtue anyone can have.

Another concept is no-action (无为）which is rooted in and is a key to the Taoism. No-action is not simply "do nothing". Rather it is about appreciating and respecting the complexity of a system, and understanding and following the karmic nature of a system. Follow the flow instead of taking unnecessary and damaging actions. Let the natural force works its wonder and do not disturb or disrupt the natural behavior of a system. Act only when it is necessary and when it is not against the natural flow of law and order.

Complexity

To an ordinary person, 1 + 1 = 2 is a simple math problem while square root of 144 = 12 is a complex one. But to a little baby, 1 + 1 = 2 is too complex to grasp, and to a high school student, the square root of 144 = 12 is quite simple.

So, complexity and its opposite simplicity are both relative terms. They are only germane to the capacity and limitation of human brain.

Complexity also has to do with interests or purposes of human beings. We only need to know what we have to know or what we want to know. A star up in the night sky is quite simple if we only care about the twinkles. But if we are interested in how far it is from the earth or what it would be like to live there, then a star is very complex and appears beyond our comprehension.

Human beings have choices. We can choose either simplicity or complexity or anything in between. We can simplify a complex matter or we can complicate a simple situation.

So it is all about us, the mankind. We are the host of the world and we can decide how we want to live our life and what we want the world to be. All human endeavors start from human beings and end at human beings. This is the beauty of being mankind. We are in control of our own destiny. But the root of human troubles and tragedies also lies in hands of mankind. Think of conflicts and wars among different states, religions, races, families, and individuals, they are all man made.