Abstract for: Achilles Can Catch the Tortoise: Alternative Goal-seeking Structures

The standard formulation of a gap-closing heuristic used in system dynamics is computationally simple, but might present problems in particular applications. From a control perspective, it is extremely overdamped, approaching but never reaching its goal, far from the optimal control system. From a behavioral perceptive, it is unrealistic: the initial response is too fast, or the approach too slow, and the controller changes its behavior for no reason. Whether this matters for system behavior would have to be tested in particular models – whether persisting small differences or the pace of response has any important impact. This paper presents some alternative formulations to test.