Sharpen Your Thinking
with Weinberg's Systems Thinking Classic
About the Book
For more than twenty-five years, An Introduction to General Systems Thinking
has been hailed as an innovative introduction to systems theory, with applications
in computer science and beyond. Used in university courses and professional seminars
all over the world, the text has proven its ability to open minds and sharpen
thinking.
Originally published in 1975 and reprinted more than twenty times
over a quarter century—and now available for the first time from Dorset House
Publishing—the text uses clear writing and basic algebraic principles to
explore new approaches to projects, products, organizations, and virtually any
kind of system.
Scientists, engineers, organization leaders, managers, doctors,
students, and thinkers of all disciplines can use this book to dispel the mental
fog that clouds problem-solving. As author Gerald M. Weinberg writes in the new
Preface to the Silver Anniversary Edition, "I haven't changed my conviction
that most people don't think nearly as well as they could had they been taught
some principles of thinking."
Now an award-winning author of nearly
forty books spanning the entire software development life cycle—including
The Psychology of Computer Programming: Silver Anniversary Edition and Exploring
Requirements (with Donald C. Gause)—Weinberg had already acquired extensive
experience as a programmer, manager, university professor, and consultant when
this book was originally published.
With helpful illustrations, numerous
end-of-chapter exercises, and an appendix on a mathematical notation used in problem-solving,
An Introduction to General Systems Thinking may be your most powerful tool
in working with problems, systems, and solutions.
Reviews
"This is the best single book in this list for classroom or
individual use to specifically learn introductory general systems theory."
". . . this is one of the classics of systems
or science of computing. I recommend it to all;
it will cause both scientists and nonscientists
to examine their world and their thinking. This
book will appear on my reading table at regular
intervals, and one day I hope to update to the golden
anniversary edition."
—John
D. Richards Software Quality Professional
"The
book under review was originally published in 1975, and the Silver Anniversary
Edition is a reprint, completely faithful to the original text . . .
"The
discussions of models and structures are almost contemporary. The positioning
of the observer as the constructor of the system is very interesting, as is the
discussion of stability and change. . . .
"Portions of Weinberg's
text are thought provoking and evocative . . .
"[T]his book is an
important read, but the earlier edition may already be on your shelf. If not,
then purchase this edition."
—Terry Plum The Journal of Academic Librarianship
". . . it is truly an extraordinary piece
of work. . . . It is not about computing per se,
but about how humans think about things and how
'facts' are relative to time, our personal experience
and environmental context. . . .
"Weinberg uses science and mathematics as
the genesis point for most of his examples. The
laws of thermodynamics, chance and simulations in
state spaces are used to demonstrate the points.
As someone with a wide background in science, I
found his examples of how scientific thought gives
us an anchor but yet alters over time excellent
learning material. Thought problems are included
at the end of each chapter and they cover many different
areas. Some involve mathematics, others science
and many could be the point of a vigorous philosophical
debate. Together they form the best collection of
thought experiments and points of contention that
I have ever seen gathered together in one location.
"This is a book that is a true classic, not
in computing but in the broad area of scholarship.
It is partly about the philosophy and mechanisms
of science; partly about designing things so they
work but mostly it is about how humans view the
world and create things that match that view. This
book will still be worth reading for a long time
to come and it is on my list of top ten computing
books of the year."
To
order this book by credit card directly from Dorset House in New York,
please call (800) 342-6657 or (212) 620-4053, weekdays, 9am to 6pm. Alternatively,
print out our Faxable Order Form
and fax to (212) 727-1044.
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DORSET HOUSE PUBLISHING CO., INC.
353 West 12th Street New York, New York 10014 USA
1-800-DH-BOOKSor 212-620-4053, fax 212-727-1044
