Subject: DYNAMO

Posted by Tim Joy on 12/7/2009
In Reply To:DYNAMO Posted by Alex Leus on 12/2/2009

Message:

I hope I am correct in stating that the first world model as it appears in Forrester's World Dynamics is a Dynamo model. Still, it is not the stock and flow symbology or the code that captivated me as much as the clarity of the arguments. There is such discipline in the word choice and syntax. Some portions of that text must be regarded as the seminal story telling of systems. For people like me whose mathematics background is quite limited, reading World Dynamics is akin it to reading The Odyssey - the great quest story of the west; every other quest story, in one way or another, bows to an element of The Odyssey. So it is, that when I want to really know good modeling and good systems writing practice, I return to World Dynamics. It's all there.

Each section (model kernel, equations, and explanation) is a model for teachers to use with students - a hybrid language of mathematical symbols, computer values and relationships, and succinct English. The combination captures, in less than a page, complex ideas about the pressure of crowding, the impact of pollution on a population, et al. The language of these explanations, new alignments and recurring combinations of words and phrases are worth some study. Just as some Shakespearean studies benefit from word counts in various plays (# of times "blood" or "guilt" appear in Macbeth, e.g.), we may also gain some insight into the thinking of Forrester and Meadows and Bateson and Richardson, et al, by gleaning some counts. What are the core phrases that match the elemental building blocks of system dynamics?

So long as much of the systems work remains tied to esoteric symbols or software, there will be little traction in K-12 education. The diagrams endemic to systems work (CLD's, stock and flow maps, and even behavior over time graphs) remain difficult for a number of people. To be frank, they're intimidating. Consider though . . . the vast majority of students can read by eight years of age; of course, many read earlier than that. Most learn the times table by eight or nine. Don't we all believe that in varying degrees, with widespread and quality instruction, most eight year olds could tell the difference between a stock and a flow?

In short, I agree there is a place for Dynamo in the continuing work of system dynamics, probably greater than just historical interest. Something in what Forrester did there with language and mathematics in tandem suggests a method for us.

Tim Joy
De La Salle North
Catholic High School
Portland OR

Follow Ups:

DYNAMO - George Richardson 12/15/2009 
DYNAMO - George Richardson 12/16/2009
DYNAMO - Bill Braun 12/16/2009
DYNAMO - Leonard A Malczynski 12/16/2009
DYNAMO - Alex Leus 12/16/2009
DYNAMO - World3 in STELLA - Lees N. Stuntz 12/16/2009
DYNAMO - Dexter Chapin 12/15/2009