Finding and exploring a system
System Search is designed to answer the question: What does x relate to? Show me the whole system of factors related to x. Anytime you see the System icon .png?alt=media&token=4265481a-0102-428a-8960-7a99f1deb282)
, this is what it means.
System Search is a novel way of searching and discovering data and knowledge. Rather than return objects that match your search criteria based on language (as is the case for common search), System Search returns the objects that relate to your search criteria based on statistical evidence.
You can use System Search today to search for a topic (like Wikipedia) and then get back everything that is statistically related to that topic based on the evidence on System at that moment in time. In addition, by using “and” between two topics, you can navigate to a specific relationship, or leave it open-ended to discover connections that may be new to you.
For example:
A System Search for: | Returns: |
|---|---|
Unemployment | Crime, Substance Abuse, Suicide |
Coffee | Mortality, Major Depressive Disorders, Birth Weight, Asthma, Smoking |
Life Expectancy | Immigration, Smoker, Real Estate Price, Government Budget, Obesity, Mortality Rate, Education, Physical Exercise, Income Segregation, Population Density, Social Capital, Teacher Education, Internet Use, School Enrollment |
Social Distancing and Mental Health | Social Distancing and Mental Health |
Food Fortification and | Food Fortification and Anemia, Food Fortification and Iron Deficiency Anemia, Food Fortification and Iron Deficiency, Food Fortification and Vitamin A Deficiency |
Importantly, these search results are not necessarily comprehensive — but they will be. System is in the early stages of its development as a public resource and you should expect that knowledge will be missing. The knowledge base will be constantly growing and improving and evolving as knowledge does. Join our community to help build System.
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On the left of the search results is System Graph, a visual representation of the relationships on System. It is a large-scale system map that shows the components and boundary of a system at a point in time. System Graph is always changing based on the latest evidence on System.
You can interact with System Graph in a few different ways:
- Use your mouse or trackpad to explore System Graph and discover unexpected relationships.
- Click on any small circle (or node) to open up a page about that metric or topic.
- Click on any line (or edge) linking a pair of metrics or a pair of topics to open up a page about the relationship