[MUSIC] Well, systems thinking is the thinking that relates to understanding how systems made out of many small parts, how these small parts combine. And how they affect the overall behavior of a system. A good example is the climate system and climate change as being produced by that system. We understand it's made out of many components, such as the weather, the local weather, the oceans, the sun intake, and production such as human production of CO2, etc. But even so we understand all of these systems, these sub-systems are still very hard to predict and explain how the overall system will work. So I think in a nutshell, systems thinking means to understand, and to some extent predict how systems or things that are made up of many components, each with their own dynamic, get coordinated into an overall behavior. [MUSIC] The relation to critical thinking I see as most important has to do with helping to identify the validity of one's own assumptions. To take the climate system again, each of us certainly has certain assumptions about what will happen if for instance, the number of coal factories was reduced dramatically around the world. And we all would likely assume that that would mean that the climate change, the heating of the Earth would get reduced. But that may actually not be the case because with a reduction of CO2 outtake, there may be other processes kicking in that counteract that expected effect. And so what a really key element to reap the benefits of systems thinking for critical thinking is also to be able to think in feedback loops. To understand how one element if it changes will effect the change of another element and how the rates of change may or may not change over time. Which is very typical for understanding systems such as natural systems, such as, I mention, climate system. But it's also important for understanding smaller systems such how a company works or how national systems such as the tech system in a nation works. [MUSIC] I think the beauty of systems thinking is that it applies across all university disciplines. Actually, if you study science these days at a university like Sydney or Melbourne and many other universities, you are increasingly expected to be able to think across disciplinary boundaries. The system concept is a key concept of science that unifies many sciences, such as chemistry, biology, earth sciences. It also unifies engineering disciplines such as urban science, production science, engineering, and the engineering of complex companies. So it's really quite universally applicable because in a sense, everything can be seen as a system depending on purposes one has for understanding our management. And also many things in our world can be productively understood as being made up of simple parts that when put together produce and show surprising behavior. Behavior that you would not expect from just looking at the parts. It's also very applicable in social sciences, for instance. So there are simulations and systems simulations of national systems and how nations and their political system affect economic, legal, and political processes. Or think of games such as Sim City, that show how we can think of a city as a complex system. And even so we can, as a mayor or as a planning organization set certain goals and instigate certain actions. The system, the simulation of the system in this case, will behave often differently from expectations. So it's really universally applicable. [MUSIC]