The System Dynamics Song: Close The Loop

The "System Dynamics Song," its official title, was originally written and performed in 1976 at Geilo, Norway by a group of attendees at the conference who protected their anonymity under the name of a Transient International Consortium at Geilo (TICAG). The version performed at Boston (and Bergen in 2000), to the tune originally chosen by TICAG, was slightly modified by the performers to scan better and to add the wildly popular hand-jive.

Close the loop!
That's the system's marching song.
Close the loop,
As you model right and wrong.
(spoken) Be holistic; be heuristic; use the knack -
And if you ever get an output,
Feed it back!

Close the loop!
And if others tell you 'nay',
Call for help,
Call for Jorgen, Dennis, Jay.
(spoken) Economics, social science and LP
Cannot criticize because
They're feedback free!

Close the loop!
Our dynamic paradigm
Saves the world
In the very nick of time.
(spoken) If your model gains no actions,
Do not fear;
There'll be new political factions
In a year.

Close the loop!
Ah, but never rate to rate!
Close the loop!
Watch it blow or oscillate.
(spoken) When parameters are murky
And dimensions are defiled,
When your smoothing turns out jerky
And your client's getting riled,

Here's the answer,
Here's the story,
Here's the scoop:
Close the loop!
Close the loop!
Close the loop!

Always Look for the Feedback in Your Life

(Sung to the tune of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" by Eric Idle, Monty Python)
Performed by Paulo Gonçalves, Andreas Größler, Özge Pala and Etiënne Rouwette

Some things in life are hard
Problems difficult at heart
Complex and nonlinear and delayed
Draw some CLDs
Check your various BOTs
If you can’t solve’m just don’t be afraid!
And…
                 You have to involve the people! (E.R.)

… Always look for the feedback in your life
… Always look for the feedback in your life

If a problem is jolly rotten
There is something you forgotten
And that’s to model all the stocks and flows
And if your model doesn’t run
And you cannot simulate
Just reduce the time step’n let it integrate!
And…
                 Hey! It’s everywhere! (P.G.)
… Always look for the feedback in your life
… Always look for the feedback in your life

If the facilitator’s kind
Concepts aren’t hard to find
Relationships more than you would like
Just draw the people in
Make them spend some time
And in the end the project will be fine!
And…
                 You’re not even looking and it’s there! (O.P.)
… Always look for the feedback in your life
… Always look for the feedback in your life
                 So you come from nothing and you go back to nothing!
                 That’s a feedback, isn’t it? (A.G.)
… Always look for the feedback in your life
                 Have you found it yet?
                 Are you really looking?

Stocks and Flows

(Sung to the tune of, “Blue Suede Shoes” by Carl Perkins, made famous by Elvis Presley)
Performed by the Vegas Elvi, also known as: Dan Andersen, Megan Hopper, Emy Laija, Stephanie Fincher and Krys Stave

One for the boundary,
Two for the mode,
Three for polarity,
Now grow, cat, grow.

But don’t you mess up my stocks and flows.
Well you can do anything, but lay off my stocks and flows.

Well you can switch my software,
Change my delays,
Cross my links,
In every which way.

Do anything that you want to do, but uh-uh,
Honey, lay off them flows.
Now don’t you mess up my stocks and flows.
Well you can do anything but lay off of my stocks and flows.

You can increase my gap,
But not my rates,
Play with my levers,
And watch me oscillate.

Do anything that you want to do, but uh-uh,
Honey, lay off my flows.
Now don’t you mess up my stocks and flows.
Well you can do anything but lay off of my stocks and flows.

I'm a Believer (in SD)

(Sung to the tune of "I'm a Believer" by Neil Diamond, made famous by The Monkees)
Performed by Diana Fisher

I thought kids learned math the old-fashioned way
Meant to solve equations with a pen.
But SD was out to get me
That's the way it seemed
Stocks and flows were haunting all my dreams.

Then I saw those loops
Now I'm a believer.
Not a trace
Of doubt in my mind.
Feedback loops
(oooooo)
I'm a believer, I couldn't leave it
if I tried

I thought math was more or less an abstract thing
But the more I learned the less I liked,
SD seemed worth trying
Start'n was a pain
When I wanted balance I got strained

Then I saw those loops
Now I'm a believer.
Not a trace
Of doubt in my mind.
Feedback loops
(oooooo)
I'm a believer, I couldn't leave it
if I tried

Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da,
Da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da, da.

But SD was out to get me
That's the way it seemed
Stocks and flows were haunting all my dreams.

Then I saw those loops
Now I'm a believer.
Not a trace
Of doubt in my mind.
Feedback loops
(oooooo)
I'm a believer, I couldn't leave it
if I tried

Consumption - A Norwegian stev*, summarising the results of an experiment on alcohol
Performed by Erling Moxnes

Oh, my dearest friends I say to you
be careful with the snaps.
The stomach is a hidden stock:
overshoot, collapse.

*A stev is a traditional Norwegian type of song, whish is supposed to have four lines per verse and a steady rythm often marked by the singer by stomping.

The Loops of Feedback1
To the tune of “The Streets of London” by Ralph McTell
Performed by John Morecroft, March 2007 ~ A verse inspired by 30+ years of system dynamics and a famous song, called "The Streets of London" by British folk singer Ralph McTell. Incidentally I saw him perform the song live for the very first time in 2006, at a festival in North Cornwall marking the centenary of the birth of English Poet Laureate John Betjeman.

Have you seen the asset stocks in the multi-looped beer game
Amplifying orders when consumers drink more beer
The factory’s working overtime and still the stocks are in decline
Feast then turns to famine but the reason is unclear.

Refrain
So how can you tell me that life’s optimal
Don’t say we’re rational all the time
Let me take you by the hand
I’ll lead you through the loops of feedback
I’ll show you something that will make you change your mind

In the Fish Banks model, at the fish rate formulations
There are non-linear functions confounding fishermen’s lives
Their ships return empty when once there was plenty
The sudden collapsed fishery is yesterday’s surprise

Have you glimpsed intangibles within the airline simulator
Determining the destiny of People Express
Declining motivation and service degradation
Feed back to undermine the firm’s growth and success

Refrain
So how can you tell me that life’s optimal
Don’t say we’re rational all the time
Let me take you by the hand
I’ll lead you through the loops of feedback
I’ll show you something that will make you change your mind

Have you heard of misperceptions, turning into paradoxes
In the way that systems behave over time
Information overrun and localised rules of thumb
Cause not only cycles but stagnation and decline

"The original Streets of London carried a positive message that life is better than we think, especially when compared with homeless people who roam the streets of London and face real hardship. I wanted to end this song on a positive note too, so I added one more verse." John Morecroft

In all problem situations, there are hidden feedback loops
Shaping how events unfold within our times
Despite complex society there’s no need for anxiety
Just design better policies and we’ll all lead better lives

Optional Ending Refrain (slightly modified)
So even though life is not optimal
And we’re not truly rational in our minds
Let me take you by the hand
I’ll lead you through the loops of feedback
Together we’ll find something that will lead to better times

1 Academic Endnote: the song and its refrain question the views of policy advisers who think that the rationality of free markets will solve all the problems faced by society. Instead we need ‘loops of feedback’ to make sense of our complex and interdependent world.

Causal Loop Babe

(sung or poorly recited to the tune “I Got You, Babe” by Sonny Bono)
Performed by Len Malczynski

They say the world’s a complex place
No simple tools for us to embrace
Well I don’t know if that’s all true
But these folks have a nice technique for you

Babe
Casual loop babe, causal loop babe

They say that growth is infinite
But what about the earth’s finite limits?
I guess that’s so, maybe that’s right
Don’t forget delays to really get insight

Babe
Casual loop babe, causal loop babe

I got flowers in the Spring, I got variables in a ring
They can loop, reinforcing
Or better yet, be balancing

So let them say SD’s too hard
Cause I don’t care I’m always on my guard
Then put your little hand in mine
There ain’t no system that we can’t define

Babe
Casual loop babe, causal loop babe

I got you and now I know
How to draw a stock and flow
I got you to think with me
I got you to code with me
I see you’re in Boston now
Next year we’ll be in Athens town
This is where I want to be
In ’09 Albuquerque

Causal loop babe
Causal loop babe
Causal loop babe
Causal loop babe
Causal loop babe

SD Let it Be...

(to the tune of Let it Be by Lennon/McCartney)
Lyrics and performances by Drew Jones and Jack Homer  

When I find myself having trouble with Vensim
Bob Eberlein comes to me, says
“Read the helpful User’s Guide, Just let me be.”

When building a production distribution model,
Jay Forrester comes to me, says
“See Industrial Dynamics, Appendix B”

Appendix B Appendix B, all the equations are in Appendix B
See Industrial Dynamics, Appendix B

When I find myself just going in circles,
Kim Warren comes to me, says
“You don’t need no feedback loops
No CLD”

When I need a really solid paperweight,
John Sterman comes to me, says
“Use my big fat textbook, Business D”

Business D, Business D, Systems Thinking and Modeling for A Complex World,
Use my big fat textbook, Business D

 [clarinet solo]

When I find myself with an annoying client,
You know that client comes to me, says
“Put in more bells and whistles, add details for me.”

When I find myself losing sight of my ideals
Dana Meadows comes to me, says
“Hold true to your purpose,
That’s my plea.”

That’s my plea, ….
Hold true to your purpose That’s my plea.

The Modeler

...to the tune of "The Gambler" by Don Schlitz, made famouse by Kenny Rogers
Lyrics and performances by Drew Jones and Jack Homer  

On a warm summer evening, on the T bound for Cambridge,
I met up with Jay Forrester. We were both too tired to sleep.
We took turns a staring out the window into Boston.
Boredom overtook him, and he began to speak.

He said, Son I’ve made a life
Out of building people models.
Know their reference modes, by the way they held their eyes.
And if you don’t mind me saying, I can see you’re out of clients,
So for a taste of your Diet Coke, I’ll give you some advice.

You gotta know when to aggregate
Know when to disaggregate.
Know when to expand the scope, know when to trim.
You never run your model, before simulating it mentally,
Play it like a video game and you’ll learn nothing from your Sim.

Stella or Vensim?
...to the tune of “Should I Stay or Should I Go” by The Clash
Lyrics and performances by Drew Jones and Jack Homer

Should I use Stella or Vensim?
One’s too fat, the other’s thin.
Building a Venapp is such a curse
The User’s Guide is even worse.

So you gotta let me know…
Should I go back to Dynamo?

Should I go back to Dynamo now?
Should I go back to Dynamo now?

Jay used to use it – he’s a pro
That is all I need to know.
So to model just like him,
Should I use Stella or Vensim?

I Wanna Stock and Flow All Night
...to the tune of “I Wanna Rock and Roll All Night” by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons of Kiss
Lyrics and performances by Drew Jones and Jack Homer  

 

Yeah I-I-I wanna stock and flow all night
And make loop every day.

Repeat.....

 

Link to Tanlent Show Photo Page