The Fundamental Behavior Patterns
A critical step in understanding the behavior of systems is to be able to identify their key patterns. A system may be in a steady or a dynamic state, but steady state is more pervasive, where the various forces acting on a system are in balance thus prod
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Abstract A critical step in understanding the behavior of systems is to be able to identify their key patterns. A system may be in a steady or a dynamic state, but steady state is more pervasive, where the various forces acting on a system are in balance thus producing little change. Dynamic behavior, on the other hand, is caused by changes in these forces that lead to imbalance, which eventually leads to an altered balanced (steady) state. The fundamental patterns of dynamic behavior are growth, decay, oscillation, and goal seeking. Oscillation is often caused by high gain and delays in a system. The interaction between a courting couple, for example, is often a high gain system, where minor disagreements lead to volatile situations. This chapter starts with a discussion on steady and dynamic behavior patterns, along with nonlinearity and time variance. Various examples of growth and decay are presented, which include the compounding growth of a bank deposit, the Chernobyl disaster, and China’s rapid economic growth. These are followed by discussion on oscillation, instability, and goal seeking. Finally, the difference between detail complexity and dynamic complexity are examined along with the behavioral unpredictability of some systems.
4.1
The Steady State Behavior
When a rock is resting on a hillside, its position with respect to its neighborhood is stationary. It is held in position by the interactions of various forces, such as gravity, which is acting to pull it down, and frictional forces and inertia, which inhibit it from doing so. In addition, the soil underneath the rock, which is © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 A. Ghosh, Dynamic Systems for Everyone, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-43943-3_4
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Dynamic Systems for Everyone
undergoing stress due to its weight, generates a restoring force that keeps it from sinking into the ground. Thus, the rock is in a steady state. Similarly, a parked car is in a steady state. However, steady state does not always mean inactivity. When the car is being driven at a constant speed, say at 60 miles an hour, that may still be considered to be in a steady state (Fig. 4.1). The car may also be considered to be in a steady state when it is moving with the flow of traffic keeping its position nearly constant with adjacent vehicles. However, if the position of the car with respect to its geographical location is of primary consideration, then a moving car will be considered to be in a dynamic or non-steady state. When I am sitting quietly after my dinner, I am in a steady state, even though my stomach is working feverously to digest the food that I have just eaten, my lungs are working to provide oxygen to my blood stream, and my heart is pumping blood to my various organs. A system is in steady state when the variables that are under consideration continue to remain the same as they were in recent past and will be so in the immediate future. Thus, the state of system whether steady or dynamic often depends on the perspective from which it is considered.
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