Subject: Top 3 SD Books

Posted by Tim Joy on 10/19/2009
In Reply To:Top 3 SD Books Posted by Niall Palfreyman on 10/16/2009

Message:

The three single-most important reads for me have been these

 The Global Citizen by Donella Meadows – specifically the opening section on System Dynamics Meets the Press. For how the everyday is re-understood from a systems point of view, this is without parallel.
 World Dynamics by Jay Forrester – specifically chapter one and chapter seven (The Epilogue). I read this, really read it, the equations, too, after working with system dynamics for a few years, and that was about the right time. It took me a long time to understand the equations, and some of them I am still not certain about, but the sections that explain are the clearest writing in systems I have ever read.
 Part One of When a Butterfly Sneezes by Linda Booth Sweeney – a clear primer on the nature of systems. This chapter provided some clear lay language to speak about this discipline to parents and peers, as well as prospective students.

Tim

Follow Ups:

Top 3 SD Books - Dexter Chapin 10/19/2009