Table 2.

Concepts of systems thinking

Systems component (synonym)	Example
Threshold event (emergence, tipping point, surprise, shock)	Birth, death, laughter, standing ovation, riot, violence, genocide, disease appearing in a new species or context
Positive feedback (amplifier)	Multi-organ failure, release of greenhouse gases from Arctic triggered by warming, leading to more warming; melting of icereducing albedo (reflectivity); also stimulating more warming
Negative feedback (dampener)	Physiological means to maintain homeostasis (eg appetite, thirst,renal function, sweating, shivering); social means such as fair distribution
Self-organisation	Ant nest, predator–prey ecological system, embryogenesis, many complex social systems, eg totalitarianism, democracies, cults,

This table shows examples from health, physiology, ecology and society.