Robert L Flood - Collected Quotes

"In general, we seem to associate complexity with anything we find difficult to understand." (Robert L Flood, "Complexity: a definition by construction of a conceptual framework", Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 1987)

"A systems description of a situation is: an assembly of elements related in an organized whole. An element may be anything that is discernible by a noun or a noun phrase that all informed observers would agree exists. An element must normally be capable of behavior such that it has some significant property(ies) that may change. A relationship can be said to exist between A and B if the behavior of either is influenced by the other." (Robert L Flood & Ewart R Carson, "Dealing with Complexity: An introduction to the theory and application of systems", 1988)

"Any subject area with 'science' in its title strongly implies a distinct branch of systematic and well-formulated knowledge and the pursuit of principles for achieving this, suggesting that a science should have a clearly recorded and coherent historical development." (Robert L Flood & Ewart R Carson, "Dealing with Complexity: An introduction to the theory and application of systems", 1988)

"Cybernetics, although not ignoring formal networks, suggests that an informal communications structure will also be present such that complex conversations at a number of levels between two or more individuals exist." (Robert L Flood & Ewart R Carson, "Dealing with Complexity: An introduction to the theory and application of systems", 1988)

"In cybernetics a system is normally described as a black box whereby the whole of a system's generative mechanisms are lumped into a single transfer function (TF). This acts on an input to produce an output. To ensure that the output is monitored, so that a system may remain homeostatic (the critical variables remain within acceptable limits) or attain a new steady state (according to input decisions, say), the output of the TF is brought back into its input where the difference between the desired and actual levels is identified. This is known as feedback." (Robert L Flood & Ewart R Carson, "Dealing with Complexity: An introduction to the theory and application of systems", 1988)

"Man's attempts to control, service, and/ or design very complex situations have, however, often been fraught with disaster. A major contributory factor has been the unwitting adoption of piecemeal thinking, which sees only parts of a situation and its generative mechanisms. Additionally, it has been suggested that nonrational thinking sees only the extremes (the simple 'solutions' ) of any range of problem solutions. The net result of these factors is that situations exhibit counterintuitive behavior; outcomes of situations are rarely as we expect, but this is not an intrinsic property of situations; rather, it is largely caused by neglect of, or lack of respect being paid to, the nature and complexity of  a situation under investigation." (Robert L Flood & Ewart R Carson, "Dealing with Complexity: An introduction to the theory and application of systems", 1988)

"Negative feedback is associated with seeking defined objectives via control parameters; and positive feedback is either contained replication and growth or uncontained and unstable growth, which may lead to structural changes or death." (Robert L Flood & Ewart R Carson, "Dealing with Complexity: An introduction to the theory and application of systems", 1988)

"Nonlinear systems (the graph of at least one relationship displays some curved feature) are notoriously more difficult to comprehend than linear systems, that is, they are more complex. Consequently they are also more difficult to control. This is exemplified by the volumes of elegant mathematics that have been developed in the search for optimal control of linear systems." (Robert L Flood & Ewart R Carson, "Dealing with Complexity: An introduction to the theory and application of systems", 1988)

"Organized simplicity occurs where a small number of significant factors and a large number of insignificant factors appear initially to be complex, but on investigation display hidden simplicity." (Robert L Flood & Ewart R Carson, "Dealing with Complexity: An introduction to the theory and application of systems", 1988)

"Synergy is a term that is also used to describe the emergence of unexpected and interesting properties." (Robert L Flood & Ewart R Carson, "Dealing with Complexity: An introduction to the theory and application of systems", 1988)

"Systems thinking is a framework of thought that helps us to deal with complex things in a holistic way. The formalization of (giving an explicit, definite, and conventional form to) this thinking is what we have termed systems theory." (Robert L Flood & Ewart R Carson, "Dealing with Complexity: An introduction to the theory and application of systems", 1988)

"The activities of a system are thought of as processes occurring in a structure. Structure defines the way in which the elements are related to each other, providing the supporting framework in which the processes occur." (Robert L Flood & Ewart R Carson, "Dealing with Complexity: An introduction to the theory and application of systems", 1988)

"The concept of entropy relates to the tendency of things to move toward greater disorder, or disorganization. […] The second law of thermodynamics expresses precisely the same concept. This states that heat dissipates from a central source and the energy becomes degraded, although total energy remains constant (the first law of thermodynamics). Entropy suggests that organisms, organizations, societies, machines, and so on, will rapidly deteriorate into disorder and "death." The reason they do not is because animate things can self-organize and inanimate things may be serviced by man. These are negentropic activities which require energy. Energy, however, can be made available only by further degradation. Ultimately, therefore, entropy wins the day and the attempts to create order can seem rather a daunting task in the entropic scheme of things. Holding back entropy, however, is another of the challenging tasks for the systems scientist." (Robert L Flood & Ewart R Carson, "Dealing with Complexity: An introduction to the theory and application of systems", 1988)

"The state of development of mathematical theory in relation to some attributes of complexity is a clear measure of our ability/inability to deal with that attribute […]" (Robert L Flood & Ewart R Carson, "Dealing with Complexity: An introduction to the theory and application of systems", 1988)

"Different methodologies express different rationalities stemming from alternative theoretical positions which they reflect. These alternative positions must be respected, and methodologies and their appropriate theoretical underpinnings developed in partnership. (Robert L Flood, "Creative Problem Solving", 1991) 

"In the modern systems approach, the concept "system" is used not to refer to things in the world but to a particular way of organising our thoughts about the world." (Robert L Flood, "Creative Problem Solving", 1991)