I’ve written often about the benefits of systems thinking over linear thinking. But the truth is that both ways of thinking have benefits.

Linear thinking does have benefits even when we focus on the disadvantages. Most people who study systems thinking only see the negatives of linear thinking. Linear thinking is missing important systematic information. It leads us towards failure when solving problems in many instances.

But this isn't the full picture. If we can use the systems thinking mindset and be aware of limitations, we can get the best of both worlds.

The Snapshot

Linear thinking looks at things as a small snapshot of the full picture. Linear thinkers tend to focus on one part of a larger system.

In the example of weather systems, we can distinguish the two separate ways of thinking. Systems thinkers will try to see the full process of how weather changes. They will want to understand how the atmosphere absorbs water. They will want to know what factors decide when the rain will fall.

Focus on What is Important

The linear thinker doesn't care about those factors. They want to know what is going to happen. They don't need to know why it rains. They want to know if it is going to rain tomorrow.

The problem is that the answer to their question is complex. The complexity is due to the various elements of the system that all interact. So, by looking for the simple yes or no answer, they miss many factors that could be important.

There are times when we don't need all the system information. When we don't need the full system information, linear thinking is quicker. It can help us move away from trying to out-think the situation.

If we are leaving the house, we simply want to know if we should bring an umbrella. We don't need to know about atmospheric pressure systems.

Analysis Paralysis

Linear thinking also has an advantage because of the complexity of systems thinking. Systems thinkers can get caught up in the evaluation instead of taking action. This results in analysis paralysis.

We all know people who analyze everything. I tend to do this from time to time. I want to find the right automobile, so I build spreadsheets and do research.

But the information doesn't always help me find a car to buy. If I get too caught up in all the detail, I don't make a decision. Instead I keep researching, hoping to stumble on the answer. In this case a linear thinking approach might be better.

Science and Linear Thinking

Much of our knowledge of the world has come about through linear thinking. In science experiments we isolate the variables we are testing. This allows us to conclude that the outcome was the result of the changes we made to the variable.

By forming a hypothesis and testing it we are looking at a small snapshot of the real phenomenon. But this allows us to understand something specific. We can then build on this knowledge to expand our understanding.

But linear thinking also causes problems. I realized this recently when I read an article from a nutritionist about eggs.

Are Eggs Good for You?

It seems every so often studies come out and tell us that we were wrong about eggs. First, they claim they were healthy for us. Then they were unhealthy. Then they contributed to high cholesterol. Then they claim they are loaded with vitamins. Then they were not linked to high cholesterol after all.

The scientific community looks for absolutes. They are not always accepting of the complexity of the situation. They end up trying to answer the linear question, "Are eggs good for you?" But the answer keeps changing because the answer isn't yes or no. The answer is more complex.

The answer is that eggs are both good for you and bad for you. There are things that are good and things that are bad. All these factors exist together and work together to form a system. That system is both good and bad from a nutrition standpoint.

Eggs have important vitamins. They also have a lot of calories. The egg whites take away some of the calories. But removing the yoke also strips away many of the vitamins. Eggs are a complex system with both healthy and unhealthy aspects to them.

This is why systems thinking is beneficial. But if linear thinking has advantages how can we use both but also avoid some of the negative aspects?

Understand Enough to Improve

The key is to understand systems thinking enough to be able to improve. We can’t get so wrapped up in the complexity that we can’t take action. We have to get a better overall picture, sometimes quickly, and then respond.

One of the ways to do this is to change the focus from being on perfection to being on making progress. Shifting to progress means we take in information and want to understand the full system. But we get the information we need and then take action.

This helps avoid analysis paralysis. It keeps us moving forward. We can take action, learn from it, then take steps to account for what we learned. We know the goal of perfection will stop us from moving forward.

The scientific world does this. A scientist studies the specifics of something. Another scientist studies a similar phenomenon. Others study something similar. Soon all that knowledge combines to form a comprehensive, systematic understanding.

The individual experiment relies on linear thinking. But systems thinking puts those pieces together like a big puzzle.

There is great value in seeing the systems all around us. But if we aren’t careful, we could get caught in analysis paralysis. Or we could be slow to react when urgency exists. By being aware of these traps, we can gain from systems thinking and linear thinking, without hitting the pitfalls.