Ideas and Systems, Units of Meaning

1 IDEAS AND SYSTEMS, UNITS OF MEANING
1.1 When I tell people that I studied Systems Design Engineering in University they often think that means I worked with computer systems but then I explain that the concept of systems isn’t limited to computers. It’s any type of system. So then the question is, “What is a system?” Whatever has the most meaning for us at the time. The key word is meaning. A system has some purpose or function, and depending on the way we look at it we can see one meaning or another. And because we can choose the way we look at a system, we can choose the meaning that we see.
1.2 Shooting rifles in the army we were part of a system and the function of that system was to make holes as close to the center of a target as possible. But the rifle itself was also a system designed to output projectiles. We, the person operating the rifle, were also a system and in this context we were a system whose function was to operate a rifle.
1.3 Systems are made up of components that are interconnected and that work together to perform the function of the system. Systems can be broken down into subsystems, which are systems in themselves. Systems can be combined with other systems to create a larger system. Whatever those subsystems or higher systems are, they all have a purpose.
1.4 We can substitute the word idea for system.
1.5 A motorcycle can be an idea and it stops there or we can think of a motorcycle in terms of its parts, an engine, a transmission, primary drive etc. Or we can go smaller, the gears, shafts, nuts and bolts and the things that they connect. If we wish to ride a motorbike then the idea that we become is that of a rider. But if we need to fix one or build one then the idea we become is that of a mechanic and then the ideas we need to be familiar with are the parts of the bike. Depending on what we have to do, we might need to understand the idea of a starter motor or we might need to understand the ideas within a starter motor. The more we understand (and the more tools we have) the more we can do. Or we understand the idea of a person who understands the smaller ideas of bikes and take the bike to them.
1.6 We are ideas made up of other ideas such as our heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and spleen. We are also part of other ideas, of a family or a loving couple, of the job we do or the hobbies we enjoy.
1.7 We are also the idea of ourselves.
1.8 The beauty of systems and of ideas is that we can choose the way we look at them. Which view gave us the best understanding?
1.9 Suppose we want to learn how to ride a motorbike then that is the idea we are trying to make real. Initially we learn how to make the bike stop, and how to make it go, at the same time learning how to keep it balanced. We also learn how to steer it. Eventually we learn all of these smaller ideas so that then we can make the bigger idea of riding real. Then we can express the idea.
1.10 Perhaps we discover that riding a bike is stressful, or not as much fun as we thought it would be. Do we want to ride a bike for transportation or are we more interested in riding a bike to go fast, in which case perhaps what we really want to do is race, or perhaps find a place where we can ride it fast without hurting ourselves or anyone around us. Or perhaps we simply don’t enjoy riding and so we leave that idea and look for another idea to make real.
1.11 Each of us has many ideas that we are either learning or expressing, helping to make real. Some of them are ideas we love, others not so much. Sometimes an idea isn’t quite what we think so we can either change the way we look at it, the way we connect to it or we disconnect and find a new idea to connect to.
1.12 Which ideas do we want to put our attention on? What are the ideas that are important for us, what are the ideas that help us to balance the idea of ourselves? What are the ideas that we subconsciously or unconsciously think about? Ideas, what are the ideas in our life? Knowing the ideas, we can choose the ones that we want to make real and continue to make real. And just as ideas are made up of other ideas we can ask ourselves this question, “what are the ideas that I am a part of.”
1.13 This book is an idea that I am helping to make it real. Before I started I was working on another idea for a book, “Belly Breathing to Tone the Abs,” but then I realized that I liked the idea of this book better. And that’s the thing about ideas, we can choose the ones we like, the ones we want to help make real.
1.14 Here’s an idea. Imagine an ideal life. Imagine leading a life where all the ideas in our life work together instead of pulling us apart. Or imagine something simpler, perhaps a life that we love or even just a job that we like with people that we enjoy working with.