System Dynamics

"Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world." — Archimedes We all want…

In colonial India, the British government faced a problem: there were too many cobras in Delhi. To solve this, they created a perfectly logical policy:…

Look down at your computer keyboard or phone. Why are the keys arranged in that weird "QWERTY" order? Is it because it is the most…

In the early days of a startup, or the beginning of a viral trend, everything looks like a rocket ship. Sales double every month. Users…

We see it everywhere. The economy booms, then crashes. A store has empty shelves one week, then overflowing clearance bins the next. Wildlife populations explode,…

Have you ever watched a viral video take off? At first, the view count explodes. It doubles every hour. It feels like it will go…

When a project runs late, we blame the "unexpected delays." When a business loses money, managers blame the "economy" or "aggressive competitors." When a relationship…

We have all heard the famous saying: "The straw that broke the camel's back." Think about the physics of that phrase. You can load 1,000…

Have you ever tried to adjust the temperature in an old hotel shower? You turn the handle to "Hot" because the water is freezing. Nothing…

One of the biggest reasons people misunderstand complex problems is that our brains are not wired to understand accumulation. We tend to focus on the…