Subject: Feedback Loops

Posted by Ford, Andy on 2/8/2006
In Reply To:Feedback Loops Posted by Prof. Dr. Niall Palfreyman on 2/8/2006

Message:

Folks,



Niall's recent message says that our discussion does not reveal a shared definition of a feedback loop. I think this is a fair observation, and an interesting one. How is it that we don’t have a shared defintion of such a fundamental concept? I’ve been puzzled by the exchange of views on this thread. To sort out the suggested definitions, I ask myself how I would use the definition:



On the first day of class, or the last day?



When feedback comes up in the first day of class, my inclination is to us a short, simple explanation and go immediately to examples. Several discussants have given examples of their favorite short explanations, and I found myself agreeing with them. As the discussion expanded, however, others contributed more complicated, more formal definitions. These definitions struck me as overly complicated for use in the first day of class, but they could be very useful on the last day of class.



I recall the final class meeting in an undergraduate physics course. My friends and I felt we were in total command of physics – we knew all the concepts, all the formulas and we had certainly completed all the exercises. Our professor began the final lecture by asking someone in the class to “define physics.” We were struck dumb by this question. Even though we were silent, the classroom discussion was a wonderfull way to wrap up the course. However, by the end of the lecture, the discussion did not reveal a shared definition of “physics.”



Andy Ford

Professor

Program in Environmental Science

Washington State University

Pullman, WA 99164-4430

Follow Ups:

Feedback Loops - Jay W. Forrester 2/9/2006