DYNAMICSCORE

System Dynamics / Feedback Loops

Stocks, flows and reinforcing loops turn small pushes into addiction spirals or virtuous cycles.

R +B −reinforcing amplifiesbalancing resists
find the loop, not the symptom · recreated schematic

How it works

  • Stocks accumulate flows; loops amplify (reinforcing) or resist (balancing).
  • Delays hide cause from effect — today's fix blooms next quarter.
  • Leverage sits at loop junctions, rarely at symptoms.
Use → Map loops before adding pressure; find the balancing lever.
Watch out → Pushing harder on a symptom while the reinforcing loop spins.
Try it → Draw the loops behind any recurring fire-drill before acting.
REDCAPE jobs → Explain · Act · Explore
Free sources → complexity-explorables.org • Wikipedia: System dynamics (CC BY-SA)
◍ Mentor soonSee REDCAPE playbook →

Attach to a lattice — combines with

Different families, shared jobs. Disagreement between them is where insight lives.

DIFFUSION
SIR Contagion
Susceptible–Infected–Recovered with an R0 tipping point. Same math for flu and pop-star fever.
SHARED JOBS: EXPLAIN · ACT · EXPLORE
GROWTH
Capital Share (r > g)
When returns on capital outrun growth, wealth concentrates without any villain.
SHARED JOBS: EXPLAIN · ACT
LEARNING
Multi-Armed Bandit
Balance pulling the best-known lever against testing new ones. Regret is the score.
SHARED JOBS: ACT · EXPLORE

More in Dynamics

Random Walk & Markets
Unpredictable steps accumulate; efficient markets leave mostly randomness behind.
Markov Chain
Next state depends only on now. Run it forward to get the long-run mix.
Polya Urn / Path Dependence
Early draws rewrite the odds — history locks in QWERTYs, VHSs and dominant cities.
← Cellular Automata & Game of LifeLyapunov / Equilibrium →