Module 24: Systems Thinking and Interdisciplinary Science
Develop a systems perspective to solve complex scientific problems by integrating ideas across disciplines.
🌎 Foundations of Systems Thinking
Systems thinking helps you understand complex interactions, feedback, and emergent phenomena.
- System boundaries and relationships
- Feedback loops and causality
- From parts to whole: emergence
🔗 Interdisciplinary Collaboration
Connectomics brings together biology, computation, engineering, ethics, and more. Learn to integrate methods and mindsets.
- Shared vocabulary and bridging jargon
- Cross-disciplinary team science
- Case studies in connectomics and beyond
🔄 Holistic Approaches to Data
Apply systems concepts to data interpretation and hypothesis generation in connectomics.
- Mapping neuron-level and system-level properties
- Integrating functional and structural data
- Pattern detection across scales
🌟 COMPASS Integration
- Knowledge: Systems frameworks, disciplinary methods
- Skills: Pattern analysis, team science
- Character: Openness to other perspectives
- Meta-Learning: Linking frameworks across domains
📚 References & Resources
- Meadows, 2008. Thinking in Systems
- NASEM, 2005. Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research
- Colab: "Systems Map Generator for Connectomics"
✅ Assessment
- Create a system map for a neuroscience problem
- Identify disciplines contributing to a connectomics challenge
- Write a reflection on how systems thinking affects your analysis