A thermostat must model the world as a heat/cold world, but it does not include in this model the possibility that the world itself might overheat or undercool it. This limitation is to be removed with the term Self-Description.
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Luhmann, Niklas. Soziologische Aufklärung. 4: Beiträge zur funktionalen Differenzierung der Gesellschaft. 4. Aufl. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, 2009, p. 77.
Control Mechanisms
Control mechanisms – for example, a thermostat – are goal-seeking.
Although the ability to make choices is necessary for purposefulness, it is not sufficient. An entity that can behave differently but produce only one outcome in any one environment is goal-seeking, not purposeful. Control mechanisms—for example, a thermostat—are goal-seeking. In contrast, people and certain types of social groups are obviously purposeful systems.
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ACKOFF, Russell L., 1999. Transformational leadership. Strategy & Leadership. 1 January 1999. Vol. 27, no. 1, p. 20–25. DOI 10.1108/eb054626. > The large and growing literature dealing with leadership has not led to an obvious increase in either the quantity or quality of leaders, particularly transformational leaders. My cursory review of the related literature leads me to the conclusion that this lack is due to the ambiguity of the concepts of leadership and transformation.
MIT Prof. Nancy Leveson claims 40 years of experience with systems and from this perspective disagrees with Safety-II point by point for 100 pages. pdf 