Brian M

Use these systems to improve your day to day life

Revisado: 05-04-19

Preface: This review was written listening only to the audiobook, which was a gift. I did not have the physical text on hand to reference while listening. There are digital reference materials available on the author's website (http://www.albertrutherford.com/diagrams3).

Those of us who enjoy listening to political discussions have heard at some point phrases like "systemic corruption" or "systems of power". While we may ponder some specific details of those problems, have you ever given a thought to how they relate to your local sewer system? They're both kinds of systems, right? Then what the heck is a system even? If you want a great answer to this question, that's where "The Elements of Thinking in Systems" comes in. Rutherford sets out to educate his audience on what systems are and how we can use a better understanding of them to enhance our lives.

There are linear and systemic approaches to tackling problems, and Rutherford opens the book with a story about how a business had to use systemic thinking in order to solve it's problems after linear thinking had failed them. The great thing about this book is that it becomes very clear quickly that in no way do you need to be running your own business or be in some kind of position of power to benefit from understanding how systems work. Following the diagrams presented over the course of the book shows us how to rewind problems and find indirect reasons for problems, and most importantly teaches us how to create mental diagrams for our own problems.

Each chapter provides us with different archetypes or problems we can reference when trying to wrap our heads around our own daily problems. I found a great benefit from the book in learning about various systemic failures and thinking about if these sorts of mental mistakes were present in my day to day life. My favorite section in the book was when he was talking about systems of personal growth, which encouraged me to map out my own personal projects and growth in a diagram form to see if I were committing any of the problems talked about in the book.

While I found the book to be very interesting, there are problems when listening to it in the audiobook form. There is a lot of new information at the start of the book. If you're someone like me who comes in with zero knowledge of the topic, you might need to rewind the intro chapter and chapter on basic terminology to take notes like I did, meaning you need to get this out of the way before listening to the rest of the chapters in a more relaxed state later like a normal audiobook.

Another problem with listening as an audiobook is following along with the diagrams online. If you take a break between the chapters over a few days, you can easily lose track of where you were in the diagrams. Since they are not numbered, you'll want to do something like highlighting the picture you were on last. Fortunately, there are no problems following along with the narration in the book. The narrator reminds me a bit of Brian from Family Guy sometimes, and I didn't encounter any hiccups while listening.

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A great starting point for learners

Revisado: 03-22-19

Preface: This review was written listening only to the audiobook, which was a gift. I did not have the physical text on hand to reference while listening. I also have a surface level familiarity of philosophy from some youtube videos over the years.

"Critical thinking can be used by anyone, you just need to be open to learning about it and working hard to master it" is the conclusion at the end of this book. I think most of us have figured this out already, but we're also reluctant to admit that our critical thinking abilities aren't exactly sharp. Why is this? Through an introduction to several of history's most prominent philosophers, Albert Rutherford aims to guide his readers on the right track to finding the answer for this question.

Rutherford explores the backgrounds and key lessons of the following thinkers: Socrates, Aristotle, Aquinas, Bacon, Descartes, Kant, Mill, Sumner, and Paul & Elder. His summaries of their lives and lessons are well organized and explained, and I didn't encounter a section in his book where I was confused by what he had written.

My favorite chapter in the book while listening was Descartes'. I've encountered explanations of his philosophy before, but Rutherford is the only writer I've encountered so far who has explained to me the motivating force behind Descartes' emphasis on doubt, and why it matters to everyone. I feel everything has clicked into place with this philosopher at last.

My favorite biography in the book is Mill's- Rutherford has a clear, particular interest in his upbringing that he details passionately. It makes me wonder how to apply the sort of lessons from his upbringing into my own life and parenting, which leads me into my main complaint with the book - applying the lessons.

I wish the book had gone the next step in helping the readers imagine scenarios where they could apply what the chapters talked about in their own lives. As it is, the book is a good introduction to concepts, but it could have offered hypothetical situations for helping nail down a particular technique in his reader's minds and helped make a more immediate personal connection with its readers.

Speaking of techniques, the biggest surprise for me was the final chapter on Paul & Elder. I had never heard of the two, but Rutherford goes into great detail with their three principles, model for critical thinking, ideas on intellectual standards, intellectual traits, and steps for sharpening your critical thinking. It is the biggest gem in the book, and I think it's worth reading the book just to learn what this chapter has to offer.

For the audiobook specifically: I found it to be well narrated, and clear. There was one minor confusing section at around 26:12 that I had to replay to understand what was said. Other than that, I have no complaints with the narrator. If you are listening to this with the text, be aware that chapters are organized with headers and if you're listening at a higher speed you may miss when a new section begins.

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