Why Good Intentions Create Strange Results?

We live in a world that keeps trying to sell us simple answers.

Fix the traffic. Improve education. Make organisations more efficient. Reduce pollution. Build better cities. Use more AI. Eat better. Govern better.

The awkward bit is that most of these problems are not isolated problems. They are systems. They involve feedback loops, delays, incentives, trade-offs, unintended consequences, and many people doing perfectly reasonable things that somehow add up to a very unreasonable outcome.

In this Bangkok Scientifique session, Mishari Muqbil will introduce systems thinking as a practical way to understand complexity without pretending it is simple. We’ll look at why good intentions often create strange results, why “root cause” thinking can sometimes mislead us, and how tools like feedback loops, leverage points, and mental models can help us see problems more clearly.

This is not a talk about abstract theory for consultants with complicated diagrams. Well, maybe a few diagrams. But the aim is to make systems thinking understandable, useful, and connected to real life — from cities and public policy to organisations, technology, and everyday decision-making.

Speaker
Mishari Muqbil is a Bangkok-based consultant, technologist, and community organiser working across AI adoption, organisational change, civic technology, and open source. His work focuses on helping people make sense of complex systems and turn messy problems into practical action.

Event details
Date: Thursday 25 June 2026
Time: 19:00
Venue: Public House
Language: English
Entry: Free

As usual, Bangkok Scientifique is open to scientists, researchers, students, professionals, curious minds, and anyone who enjoys learning something new over food, drinks, and good conversation. First-timers are very welcome.

The event is free, but since the venue is kindly hosting us, please support them by ordering food or drinks.

Come along if you’ve ever looked at a problem and thought: “Surely this is more complicated than people are making it sound.”