Is this actually true, though? I'm inclined to think that your black-box analysis was badly done if it can't account for hysteresis.

If the system's state is a function of its environment and of its past, because some internal component of the system is "remembering" the past, then a timeless input/output analysis can't predict the system's output from its input.

I disagree that black box thinking is something we should strive to avoid.

I didn't say it was. Nor did the author. Every approach has biases.

As to whether the article is worthwhile--well, it's hard to get a hold of, and most of it is focused on questions of evolutionary theory. If it interests you, you'd probably find it easier and more useful to get the book. You can sample it thru the link in the post.