1.2 Events

The core building block of a system behavior is an event. The behaviour consists of, or is realized through, a series of events. To flip it around, we can also say that series of events over time reveal system behavior – which itself reveals the system purpose.

Studying an individual event in isolation, much like examining a system devoid of context, can yield short-term benefits but may not be advantageous in the long run. Designers must encompass a broader understanding of the process and consider longer time horizons to effectively comprehend each event within its appropriate context. This approach allows for a deeper understanding of causality, whether it's linear or nonlinear, and the associated unpredictabilities. Again, emphasizing the significance of nesting is vital in this regard.

1.2.1. Process

Process is a set of events.

Alfred North Whitehead’s philosophy is based on the idea that the universe is composed of an infinite number of interrelated processes, rather than fixed objects or substances. the fundamental elements of the universe are not objects or substances, but events or occasions of experience. These events are the basic building blocks of reality, and they are characterized by their intensity, duration, and potential for change. This approach emphasizes the importance of change and adaptation, and it provides a framework for understanding the fundamental principles that govern the behavior of the universe.

Procedures vs patterns = alghoryth vs heuristics = certainity, deductive logic vs uncertainty of success, inductive, RATIONAL

1.2.2 Experience

Subjective aspect of event is experience.

I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

– Maya

Even suffering can be bearable if the greater meaning is in sight. Frankl

All experience is like an echo,
Occurring after the event and
Distorting it by varying degrees.
The distance between the event and
The experience is directly related to
The scale of involvement of
The experiencer.

– Wu Hsin

Event becomes experience through personal involvement

• Experiencing event based on precious experiences and established mental models and cultural norms

• Phenomenolgy, find how they described the “experience”

• story (journey) map

  • customer journey and pain points in some of the touch points

• service design (blueprint of journey against multiple personae, with emotions)

• Emotions, affective

• Mickey’s 10 commandments

1.2.3. Nonlinearity

In (finance and other) complex systems, nonlinearity refers to the idea that small changes can have large and unpredictable effects. This is in contrast to linear systems, where small changes have proportionally small effects.

Time horizon is a critical notion here, something that looks predictable in the short run might actually be unpredictable in slightly longer or long run. Turkey problem, Taleb

Natural systems are more resilient than human systems. It’s said that if you’ve given an economist to design human beings, we’d all have one eye, one ear, and one kidney. Not very good with parsimony and redundancy.

Antidote to non-linear causality is barbell. Majority of is security. Protect the system with redundancy, but enhance it with potential gains with optionality.

Taleb