An Introduction to General Systems Thinking

A couple favorites that haven't been mentioned: 'An Introduction to General Systems Thinking', Weinberg, and he's got a dozen more worthwhile books behind it. 'The Logic of Failure: Recognizing and Avoiding Error in Complex Situations', Dietrich Dorner

My three favorites from Gerald Weinberg: 1. 'The Secrets of Consulting: A Guide to Giving and Getting Advice Successfully' I was put off for a decade by the click-bait title but this is a profound little book that helped me get perspective on problem solving in my work and myself. 2. 'Becoming a Technical Leader' The text is great; working the exercises for yourself will make you a stronger thinker. 3. 'An Introduction to General Systems Thinking' One of his densest, driest books, but a great summary of the highlights of the field with plenty of thought problems in the exercises and plenty of pointers for digging deeper.

Weinberg's book should be required reading for all scientists and engineers.

+1, Weinberg's "An Introduction to General Systems Thinking" [0] blessed me with the Systems Triumvirate: 1. Why do I see what I see? 2. Why do things stay the same? 3. Why do things change? I notice that I am very often using these questions to get a general grasp of something I don't understand. I think this book is considered a classic in the systems thinking field by many. 0: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/583766.An_Introduction_t... (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/583766.An_Introduction_to_General_Systems_Thinking)

'An Introduction to General Systems Thinking' [1] by the late, great Gerald Weinberg? [1] https://leanpub.com/generalsystemsthinking Edit: no relation (I believe?) to Gabriel Weinberg of Duck Duck Go who is also being mentioned in this discussion.

Peter Senge's Fifth Discipline is great. Related, I would also recommend "Thinking in Systems" by Donella Meadows and "An Introduction to General Systems Thinking" by Jerry Weinberg.

Non-Fiction: "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, because it changed my understanding of people for the better. "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!" by Richard Feynman, because it gave me a model for how to enjoy life. "Models" by Mark Manson, because it helped shape my understanding of heterosexual relationships. "An Introduction to General Systems Thinking" by Gerald Weinberg, because it illuminates the general laws underlying all systems. Fiction: "Stranger in a Strange Land" by Robert A Heinlein, because it showed me a philosophy and "spirituality", for lack of a better word, that I could agree with. "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand, because they showed me how human systems break, and they provided human models for how to see and live in, through, and past those broken systems. "Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality" by Eliezer Yudkowsky, because it set the bar (high) for all future fiction, especially when it comes to the insightful portrayal of the struggle between good and evil.