Publications
Courses
A structured systems-science curriculum, with the readings available now.
Courses
Introduction to Learner-First Education
How to design instruction that actually shifts mental models
An introduction to the Learner-First Education framework — the ISRD approach to instructional design for complex domains. Covers attractor theory applied to learning, the seven-phase module structure, AI tutoring architecture, and simulation as an epistemological tool. Includes hands-on design exercises using ISRD simulation tools.
Introduction to Systems Science
The four eras of systems thinking and why they matter now
A ground-up introduction to systems science — from General Systems Theory through cybernetics, complexity science, and the AI era. Each era is explored through interactive simulations and AI-facilitated reflection. Includes the Feedback Loops, Lorenz Attractor, and Emergence simulations.
Post-Viral Illness as a Complex System
Understanding ME/CFS and chronic conditions through attractor dynamics
A systems-based course for clinicians, patients, and researchers working with post-viral and treatment-resistant conditions. Uses the ME/CFS Population Outbreak Simulator and brainstem ANS model as learning instruments. Applies Learner-First Education design throughout.
Readings
Complexity Science
- Complexity Science
Complex adaptive systems, emergence, self-organization, the edge of chaos, and attractor landscapes — from the Santa Fe Institute tradition.
Cybernetics
- Cybernetics
The science of control and communication in systems — feedback control loops, first and second order cybernetics, and how systems regulate themselves.
General Systems Theory
- General Systems Theory
Bertalanffy's interdisciplinary study of systems in general — boundary, wholeness, hierarchy, isomorphism, and equifinality as the ontological foundation of systems science. - Module 1: Foundations and Core Concepts
What is a system, boundary and environment, open versus closed systems, wholeness, and equifinality. - Module 2: System Properties and Behavior
Hierarchy, feedback, nonlinearity, and isomorphism — the GST toolkit for analyzing system behavior.
Systems Dynamics
- Systems Dynamics
Forrester's method for modeling dynamic systems — stocks, flows, causal loop diagrams, and the classic models that built the field.
Systems Practice
- Systems Practice
An integrated toolkit — diagnose, model, intervene, evolve — for applying all four foundation theories together across any domain.
Systems Science 101
- What Is Systems Science?
Systems science is the study of pattern — the structures and principles that recur across every domain, from feedback loops to attractors to emergence. - Feedback Loops
The circular causality that makes system behavior counterintuitive — reinforcing and balancing loops, delay, and why feedback is the engine of dynamic behavior. - Emergence
Why the whole exceeds the sum of its parts — attractors, hierarchy, and self-organization as the mechanisms behind emergent behavior.