Non-systemic thinking is LAMO

Systems thinking and a lack thereof is hard to define. One often defaults to describing the former as being zoomed out and the latter zoomed in.

But that is misleading. A systemic thinker might spend time zoomed in to a specific component. Conversely, a non-systemic thinker might look at the ‘big picture’ and not see the systemic aspects of it.

Non-systemic thinking is LAMO: Linear, Anthropocentric, Mechanistic and Ordered.

The real world is nonlinear, yet we tend to think in linear ways.

The real world is agnostic about human endeavours, yet we tend to look at things through a human-centred (anthropocentric) lens.

The real world is adaptive and organic, yet we tend to think mechanistically (e.g. the metaphors we use reference machines; universe is like clockwork; mind is a like a computer).

The real word is networked and complex, yet we think of things in ordered categories and hierarchies.

References:

  • https://pigontracks.substack.com/p/1-systems-and-the-self
  • https://pigontracks.substack.com/p/2-varieties-of-thinking

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