Response to Discussion by Elms on “Systems and Sustainability”

I am grateful to David Elms for his kind comments on my paper and for extending the conversation. While there are some rich systems ideas in areas of “pure engineering” (eg duality and contragredience in the analysis of water, structural, electrical and other networks, and which is captured and revealed by a common – and beautiful – underlying mathematical framework), systems comes into its own when used to address real world complex problems. Not least, sustainability. It doesn’t give the answer, but it provides the framework for finding one. Nothing is hidden. Disagreements can be out in the open. Discrimination – and not to be confused with prejudice – can be used to compare different options. In that sense, yes, my paper was a call to action. And I hope that young teenage girl who was at my lecture in Christchurch in 2010 is now working on the systems level solutions to ensure a sustainable future.