Subject: Causal Loop Diagrams

Posted by Richard Turnock on 11/27/2009
In Reply To:Causal Loops with 'AND' Posted by leusa on 11/26/2009

Message:

Anecdote about CLD

At a CLE conference, Dennis Meadows had an informal discussion with a group and was asked about Causal Loop Diagrams. He said CLDs came after his group built a dynamic model using computer simulations and was trying to figure out how to present the results. CLDs were developed as a way to present the results of a computer simulation to an audience that did not have the technical training required to understand the computer simulations.

For me, this was an “Ah-ha” moment because up until then I had not understood why CLDs were taught to people (that had not learned dynamic modeling) as if you could analyze feedback loops using only CLDs. For me, an analogy is using Power Point for a presentation on Nuclear Engineering at a public meeting about how a nuclear power plant works.

Richard

Follow Ups:

Causal Loop Diagrams - Niall Palfreyman 11/27/2009