ReadGlobe · Systems & complexity
Why the whole behaves unlike its parts — feedback, bottlenecks, emergence and collapse.
Systems thinking is understanding something by how its parts interact as a whole — through feedback loops, delays, and…
Mental model · updated 29 May 2026
Emergence is when a system exhibits properties or behaviours that its individual parts do not have on their own. The…
Mental model · updated 29 May 2026
Entropy is a measure of disorder, and physics says it always increases in a closed system. As a mental model, it…
Mental model · updated 29 May 2026
A bottleneck is the single constraint that limits the output of an entire system — the narrowest point through which…
Mental model · updated 29 May 2026
Critical mass is the threshold at which a system becomes self-sustaining — the point where enough has accumulated for…
Mental model · updated 29 May 2026
Written by Paulo de Vries · free to read, no sign-up