The ABC of I Think

Emilio Porta Pallais

eporta@worldbank.org
 Nouns and Verbs

• The distinction between nouns and verbs is

recognized in many languages.

• Stocks and flows are the nouns and verbs of System

Dynamics.

• The distinction between them is the first skill that

must be taught.
 Nouns and Verbs

Nouns

Stocks: Nouns. Represent the actual state, magnitude or

Reservoir
condition. They say the state of things. They stop actions and the
actual condition persists. The stocks accumulate. All the items in
a balance sheet are stocks.

Reservoir are the most common form of stock. Personal accounts,

cash, inventories, population, water reserves, debt, confidence,
Conveyor obligations, corruption, frustration, self-esteem.

Conveyors are like a sidewalk. They can be used to create a better

level of representation of a process or delay in the process.
 Nouns and Verbs

Verbs

Flows: Verbs. Represent actions/activities. They say

uniflow how the things are going. They can stop the process and
the volume of the flow falls to zero. All the items in an
income statement are flows. Most use “ing” (gerund) as
an ending.

Contracting, increasing price, learning, selling, enrolling,

biflow
lecturing, spending, lending, loaning, depositing,
growing, manufacturing
 Nouns and Verbs

Verbs

Nouns
Verbs
 Constructing Sentences

• A simple sentence consists of a noun and a verb

(e.g. a stock and flow). Inventory

delivery

• A compound sentence (called a “principal chain” or

“spinal cord”) consists of two or more stocks together
with one or more flows. Inventory supplier Inventory reseller

delivery

• There are two rules, which guide the way that nouns
and verbs can be put together.
 Constructing Sentences
Rule 1: Respect the Consistency of Units
All the flows arriving or leaving a stock must be in the same
unit of measurement as the stock.
Peopl
e
Population

Birth Death
People per People per
year year

Anger
units
Anger

Raising Diminishing

Anger units per minute Anger units per minute

 Constructing Sentences
Respect the Consistency of Units: Exercises
Use a mental simulation to identify what is wrong with these representations
of stocks and flows.

1. “Motivation by increasing salaries”

Salary Motivation

increase

2. “Criminals create fear…”

Criminals Fear

create
 Constructing Sentences
Rule 2: Respect the laws of conservation

All the physical flows come from one place (draining a stock) and end in
another place (filling the stock).
In the construction of
Applicants Workers
a model, you must
Ex employees
make a conscious
decision if you want to
conserve a physical
Contracting
Resigning flow. It is a decision
of the limits of the
model.

Virtually all the non-physical come from the air and disappear into the air.

Knowledge

Learning Forgettin
 Constructing Sentences
Rule 2: Respect the laws of conservation - Examples

Name the stocks that could be replaced by the clouds?

Patients
a.

Admitting patients to leaving the

the emergency room emergency room

Monetary Reserves

b.
Profits Expenditures
 Constructing Sentences
Respect the laws of conservation: Exercises

A map of the transfer of knowledge is drawn below. Do a mental

simulation of the process that the map represents. What do you
think?

Teacher knowledge Student knowledge

teaching
 Joining Sentences
The sentences are joined together when the noun and
verb are connected to the verb of another sentence.

Workers knowledge

incorporating

Work Teachers

completing contracting

In order to do the combinations, we need a new

element of language: the conector
 Distinguishing two ways to
connect sentences
Stock to flow Flow to Flow
Working Increasing the skills of teachers
Workers knowledge

incorporating

Work Teachers

completing contracting
 Distinguishing two ways to
connect sentences
Below are two representations of the process building strength necessary to split wood.
Do a mental simulation of both. Which one is the best representation? Why?
A. B.

Muscle Mass Muscle Mass

Building muscle mass Building muscle mass

Split wood Split wood

Splitting wood Splitting wood

 Introducing Converters

Converters mainly operate as adverbs. They modify verbs/flows.

Muscle Mass

Whenthey
When theyare
areused
used
asadverbs,
as adverbs,converters
converters Building muscle mass

functionas
function as“terms
“termsof
of
productivity.”
productivity.”
Split wood

Splitting wood

Muscle mass per piece of wood

 Adverbs

Advers

Verbs
Advers
Nouns
Verbs
 Introducing Converters
Convertors also can serve as adjectives, substitutes for
stocks or flows, and/or for general uses.

Adjective Substituting for a

hunger stock or flow

Students
Food in the stomaFood
in the stomach General
Uses Variable cost

Self esteem

independence Self respect

 Generic Structures
Linear
B B
A
A

B
B A

No feedback
 Generic Structures
Exponential Growth
B A
B
A

Fraction

Reinforcement
 Generic Structures
Convergence (Adjustment of STOCK)
A
B A
B

Fraction or
Time

Counteract
 Generic Structures
Convergence (Adjustment of STOCK)
B

B
A
G A

Difference
Fraction
Goals

A
G
B

Counteract