“A system generally goes on being itself, changing only slowly if at all, even with complete substitutions of its elements—as long as its interconnections and purposes remain intact.”
More from Donella H. Meadows
“The time lags imposed by stocks allow room to maneuver, to experiment, and to revise…”
“A stock takes time to change, because flow takes time to flow.”
“The elements, the parts of systems we are most likely to notice, are often (not always)…”
“Changing [a system's] elements usually has the least effect on the system.”