Challenges of Regenerative Systems Design (Part 2 of 3)
What Models Make Visible: Understanding How Boundaries Shape What Becomes Possible
Why do economics and ecology often see the same world so differently? The answer lies in the boundaries their models draw. In Part 2 of this series, we explore how assumptions shape what becomes visible, what disappears from view, and why the way we define a system ultimately determines what we measure, optimize, and create. Understanding these boundaries reveals a critical insight: what is excluded from a model does not disappear from reality.
2024 Leilani Vella. All rights reserved ©
photo credit: BIG SUR by Allie Lehman
Challenges of Regenerative Systems Design (Part 1 of 3)
The Illusion of Separation: How Economics and Ecology Shape the Systems We Build
This first article in the Challenges of Regenerative Systems Design series begins with a simple question: can we agree to examine the assumptions beneath the systems that shape our lives?
Using a comparison of ecological and economic models, it explores how the assumptions embedded within our models shape what we can see, what we can measure, and ultimately what we believe is possible. The article examines why uncertainty is not a failure of complex systems, but a defining characteristic of them. By investigating how model boundaries influence perception, it invites us to question whether the methods we use to understand modern systems are revealing or obscuring the relationships that support long-term human and ecological well-being.
2024 Leilani Vella. All rights reserved ©
Photo Credit: BY WATER by Daniel Farò