Systems thinking: a cautionary tale (cats in Borneo)

This whiteboard animation video about systems thinking tells a story of cats in Borneo (a.k.a. Operation Cat Drop parachuting cats) that occurred in Borneo in the 1950's. It is a reminder that when solutions are implemented without a systems perspective they often create new problems.
More details in this book "Parachuting Cats into Borneo": amzn.to/2wBfSD0
We live in complex systems. Systems thinking is important to take into account in our sustainable development to make sure that we take all systems into account before acting and trying to solve our sustainability problems.
As a result of not using systems thinking in this story, the World Health Organization decided to parachute live cats into Borneo. “Operation Cat Drop” occurred courtesy of the Royal Air Force and eventually stabilized the situation.
Indonesian Subtitles: Shanty Syahril
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Resources:
catdrop.com/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operatio...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_...
If you are interested to learn more about systems thinking, check out the Top 15 Systems Thinking Books agile.dzone.com/news/top-15-sy... and follow Gene Bellinger @SystemsThinking.
Narration: Sarah Brooks
Music "The Messenger" by Silent Partner
Thank you to our volunteer for the Portuguese subtitles: André Ribeiro Winter
Thank you to our volunteer for the Turkish subtitles: Tuba Atabey, Gül Ulu, Okan Türkeş, Ezgi Topuz
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Transcript:
Inspired by a true story…
In the 1950s, the Dayak people of Borneo, an island in Southeast Asia, were suffering from an outbreak of malaria, so they called the World Health Organization for help. The World Health Organization had a ready-made solution, which was to spray copious amounts of DDT around the island. With the application of DDT, the mosquitoes that carried the malaria were knocked down, and so was the malaria.
There were some interesting side effects, though. The first was that the roofs of people’s houses began to collapse on their heads (sound 50-52). It seems the DDT not only killed off the malaria-carrying mosquitoes, but it also killed a species of parasitic wasp that up to that point had controlled a population of thatch-eating caterpillars. Without the wasps, the caterpillars multiplied and flourished, and began munching their way through the villagers’ roofs.
That was just the beginning. The DDT affected a lot of the island’s other insects, which were eaten by the resident population of small lizards called geckos. The biological half-life of DDT is around 8 years, so animals like geckos do not metabolize it very fast, and it stays in their system for a long time. Over time, the geckos began to accumulate pretty high loads of DDT, and while they tolerated the DDT fairly well, the island’s resident cats, which dined on the geckos, did not. The cats ate the geckos and the DDT contained in the geckos killed the cats. With the cats gone, the island’s population of rats came out to play and we all know what happens when rats multiply and flourish. Pretty soon the Dayak people were back on the phone to the World Health Organization, only this time it wasn’t malaria they were complaining about. It was plague and the destruction of their grain stores caused by the overpopulation of rats. This time, though, the World Health Organization didn’t have a ready-made solution and had to invent one: they decided to parachute live cats into Borneo. “Operation Cat Drop” occurred courtesy of the Royal Air Force and eventually stabilized the situation.
Conclusion:
If you don’t understand the inter-relatedness of things, solutions often cause more problems
Simple questions often require complex and reflective thinking if good solutions are to be found
It is always better to manage by design than by default

[@learnsustainability]

If you find this video useful, please subscribe alturl.com/jc8u6 and leave us a comment below 😀

[@felixtrent6689]

I know Im asking randomly but does anybody know of a tool to get back into an Instagram account..? I was dumb lost my account password. I love any help you can give me

[@FlyingLime]

Thank you so much for helping me use this video to illustrate system archetypes such as "fixes that fail", and explain how system delays work. I once used this video as a stepping stone to prepare for an exam some time ago, and re-watching it now can help me with an exam I have coming soon. Warmest regards!

[@learnsustainability]

You're welcome! Thanks for your message.

[@learnsustainability]

NEW VIDEO! New narration voice. Please let me know what you think. Do you know of any other stories where solutions implemented without a systems perspective created new problems?

[@LBH1570]

check out Cane toads (sp?) in Australia

[@learnsustainability]

Laurie Husted Will do. Thanks!

[@danz7851]

Also why Common Mynahs were introduced in Hawaii 😅

[@DanielSuguwa]

Hello, this is a great video! As a Sarawakian, I never heard this from anywhere, not even in my hometown in Borneo. Thanks for the story! It should remind us that we must think thoroughly about the solution before proceeding, otherwise it's a failure. Sometimes, I wish this doesn't happen, but oh well, those who don't learn the history will condemn to repeat it again. Also, wishing that we may not land our cat with parachute, but this time with jetpack rocket. 😊

[@learnsustainability]

Ahah! Thank you for your comment. Much appreciated.

[@DanielSuguwa]

@@learnsustainability You're welcome!

[@donemmanuel4226]

WOW.Great job.

[@MicahandModesta]

Her voice reminds me of Amy Farrah Fowler from The Big Bang Theory!

[@andreadownie]

YES!

[@Saf_Shares]

Yep. A younger version.

[@k.chriscaldwell4141]

Also of import is that mosquitoes are a very important pollinator. I'd imagine post DDT that crop yields declined.

[@kickkickkon]

This video is great to understand systems thinking! I would like to use this in training!

[@learnsustainability]

Thanks! I am glad it is useful. You are welcome to use the video as long as you give for credit.

[@mediapeace6772]

This is amazing

[@97days]

I loved this! This is the second parachuting animal story I've heard. Look for the parachuting beavers video. Now, if we could just parachute frogs and fish, we could save the world!

[@TheScottttttt]

They introduced toads into Australia to control an introduced beatle population iiric and that didn't end well but unfortunately I don't think they were airdropped!

[@suzanneparsel-dew7464]

Great job!!

[@learnsustainability]

Thnaks :-)

[@kenigiri]

Great video. manage by design!

[@antonellopisu2252]

Thank you so much for this video! it's very useful and interesting

[@learnsustainability]

Glad it was helpful!

[@ardighorashy]

Thanks!

[@learnsustainability]

Thank you!

[@BaljeetSingh-uu3ky]

Great video👍

[@learnsustainability]

Thanks 👍

[@keiram7649]

im doing a homework assignment on this where we have to make a network/web of this, anyways i have to know what the rats ate to get the plague..any help??

[@learnsustainability]

Thanks for your message. You might need to watch the video again. The rats did not "get the plague" (nobody did actually). On the contrary, they proliferated due to the absence of cats who died from the DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) contained in the geckos they ate.

[@JY-tq4ir]

wow, very good

[@geckoserrar]

Ahahaaha fantastic video, it seems western science often targets the symptom rather than the cause, and it leads to problems like this. Reminds me of how antibiotics are used for so many health problems and lead to things like stomach issues and immunity to antibiotics

[@catarinasacouto8864]

If the insects were killed with DDT, how the lizzards ate them? They eat alive insects...

[@learnsustainability]

Good question! The geckos did not eat dead insects, they ate live insects who had DDT into them (as shown in the image of the gecko eating flying insects), and by eating large quantities of those insects, they accumulated high levels of DDT, which they tolerate quite well. But the cats who ate the geckos, got killed by the high levels of DDT.

[@DOX_Prod]

@@learnsustainability Apparently they ate cockroach which have a better resilience and can metabolize DDT in their bodies. But the whole story about foodchain contamination might be wrong as I just read in this article : catdrop.com/cats.htm Basically cats might have just been intoxicated by licking their paws... The implications about problem solving are still true and your video is cool !

[@adenknipfer7737]

This video was pretty good

[@learnsustainability]

Cheers! Glad you liked it!

[@manabucomunit]

Great video again. Is there any possibility to put spanish Subtitles to share in my website or facebook? I would really appreciate if you do it, because developing countries doesn't have such as clearly and simple information to explain something. Regards from Chile.

[@learnsustainability]

My Spanish is not good enough for that but if you are willing to translate subtitles into Spanish please let me know and I'll send you a preformated text file in which you will have only to replace English text into Spanish.

[@manabucomunit]

Yeah would be great!! I can try it. Thank you.

[@learnsustainability]

Su pD Please send me an email at [e-mail] with the videos you would like to translate and I will send you the files in return...

[@learnsustainability]

Thanks Aryeh! We don't have video fully translated in Spanish but some volunteers did Spanish subtitles for the videos in this playlist: kzbin.info/aero/PLEXqjIYY5zi4xIncFKSXwRi0ympxjOsur Does that help?

[@CassidyDolnik]

This was good

[@MrManueleh]

The saddest part is they used thousands of times more ddt then needed to stop the mosquitos. Literally hundreds of gallons were used where ounces would have been suffiecient.

[@trulympr4803]

So cool 😎

[@Potencyfunction]

What do you see so cool at one two three parasitis? Cool is one, bee is two and cat is 3.

[@sinkalen]

Oh...That's where the name Kuching come from. Parachuting cat

[@sobi3527]

done

[@pedrodiaz4343]

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:38 *🦟 DDT spraying led to unintended consequences, including collapsing roofs due to the elimination of parasitic wasps controlling thatch-eating caterpillars.* 01:35 *🦎 Accumulation of DDT in geckos, consumed by cats, led to cat mortality, causing an increase in the rat population.* 02:05 *🐈 Operation "Cat drop" was initiated to control the rat population, highlighting the unforeseen consequences of environmental interventions.* Made with HARPA AI

[@SillyKoala]

Nice story! :D

[@learnsustainability]

I know, right!

[@AussyCC]

cool thx

[@lauraozaeta3345]

Hi there! I am a Courseware Developer for a flight school. I would like to inquire about obtaining permission to use this video from your KZbin channel in our courseware. We will happily comply with any guidelines regarding the use of your video, and fully attribute your content. Please let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to your response. Thank you in advance.

[@learnsustainability]

Hi Laura, please send your request here: sustainabilityillustrated.com/en/contact/

[@kashyapiawasthi5073]

Great learning for understanding systems thinking

[@learnsustainability]

Glad it was helpful!

[@wanguimaina7102]

help, how do i cite this video in APA

[@learnsustainability]

What is APA?

[@jjdalrymple3128]

The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell

[@bharathibt22]

So..the parachuted cats did not have an appetite for geckos?

[@learnsustainability]

Good question! I guess the large number of them helped take care of the geckos and the rats.

[@CPLsaiful]

can i share it

[@learnsustainability]

Of course!

[@hazystorm.]

Cats once become a elite paratroopers 🤯😂

[@matty_beastmode]

hi

[@Phantasmal77]

Yo Marshall Cavendish Education thing copied you in their science psle revision guide third edition in page 198 and they even used the EXACT same words a few times

[@learnsustainability]

As long as they give me credit for the original video, it is fine!

[@tamponinator98]

ICS Class of 2018???

[@noravich]

nice

[@gravshark8558]

THEY MFIN PARACHUTED CATS INTO BORNEO

[@Jagan725]

my teacher told me to do this

[@itsjammy3739]

same

[@thunder6061]

Samw

[@Jagan725]

Set Part yeah lmao

[@alexandragore6201]

who else is here from SWA S.T.E.M class?

[@RollModel724]

The cats aren't indigenous to Borneo. I don't think that these are systems thinking issues. It seems the opposite of systems thinking.

[@seanchen439]

謝謝你，考試答案在這裡

[@learnsustainability]

👍

[@sarperyasar8584]

So, it rained cats but not the dogs then :)

[@sarperyasar8584]

...or shall we say "rain before reign" :) . Ok, humour aside, thanks for this nice information on interaced life-cycles.

[@sjm530houston]

You did a good job but I am not a fan of AP Bio so it is what it is

[@lookiekookie7269]

100,000 of these view are from kids forced to watch this in class

[@user-yw4zn5tb7n]

Я здесь один русский который перешёл по ссылке журнала OYLA ?

[@user-zd1mk1sf3q]

lmao

[@MegaKimor]

everything is voiced except the conclusion. really?

[@learnsustainability]

Really 😊 I am sorry if that bothered you... Did you enjoy the video apart from that?

[@grilocosta]

nice issue, nice approacj, but a pretty racist drawing of a civil servant from Borneo

[@clunkCA]

Womp womp

[@marlaallen7234]

Thank you. I love information from racist authorities...maybe that was authorities on racism. How many are there, now?.

[@KW_SPORTS_WWW]

How is that racist 😂😂😂

[@fuzzpanda1584]

get a better microphone?

[@mfundomkhize2337]

Moral of the story be weary of WHO

[@learnsustainability]

Not really. This is not a story about WHO. It is a story about the importance of looking at the whole picture before making decisions to make sure that don't create more problems!