Systems Thinking & Interdisciplinary Logic · Part 1B — Foundations: Stocks, Flows, Delays & Archetypes

Building on Part 1A (Orientation). Here you learn the basic “plumbing” of systems: what accumulates, what moves, how long it takes, and why the same few patterns show up everywhere.

Events are noisy. Structures are quiet. If you can name the structure, you can predict the kind of story that will keep replaying.

1. From “Complicated” to “Structured”

When something feels “complicated” we usually mean: “I see many moving parts and I can’t tell what matters.” Systems thinking replies with a calm question: “What accumulates? What flows? Where are the loops? Where are the delays?”

Part 1B gives you four lenses:

• Stocks — what builds up or drains.
• Flows — what changes those stocks.
• Delays — how long responses take.
• Archetypes — familiar patterns of behaviour that appear in many different systems.

2. Stocks: What Actually Builds Up

A stock is anything you can imagine measuring at a snapshot in time:

• Money in an account.
• Trust between two people.
• Skill in a language or craft.
• Unresolved support tickets.
• Backlog of creative ideas.

Stocks matter because they carry memory. A system with zero memory behaves differently from one with deep memory. For example: a relationship with a long history of reliability behaves differently from a new one, even if today’s actions look the same on the surface.

Exercise — Naming Your Stocks

Pick one domain (money, health, relationships, learning, creative work, business).

DOMAIN:
______________________________________

LIST 3–5 IMPORTANT STOCKS:
1) ____________________________________
2) ____________________________________
3) ____________________________________
4) ____________________________________
5) ____________________________________

For each stock, is “more” always better? Or is there a healthy range?
Note that systems often break when stocks are too high OR too low.
  

3. Flows: How Stocks Change

If stocks are bathtubs, flows are taps and drains. They’re rates: per day, per week, per month.

Examples:

• Income and spending are flows that change the stock of money.
• Practice hours and forgetting are flows that change the stock of skill.
• Acts of kindness and unkindness are flows that change the stock of trust.

The same stock can experience multiple flows at once. That’s often where interesting behaviour arises.

Exercise — Stock–Flow Sketch

Choose ONE stock from the previous exercise.

STOCK:
______________________________________

INFLOWS (what increases this stock?):
- ____________________________________
- ____________________________________
- ____________________________________

OUTFLOWS (what decreases this stock?):
- ____________________________________
- ____________________________________
- ____________________________________

Which flow do you influence the most in daily life?
Which flow do you ignore but should probably measure?
  

4. Delays: Why Systems Overshoot and Oscillate

A delay is the lag between cause and effect. Humans are bad at delays. We react too early or too late, then wonder why things oscillate.

Some examples:

• You increase exercise, but mood and energy only improve noticeably weeks later.
• A company improves product quality, but reputation takes months to catch up.
• A country changes interest rates, but inflation responds on a delay.

In systems language, delays often create oscillation—a pattern of overshoot and correction. Like turning a shower tap too far hot, then too far cold.

Exercise — Spot the Delay

Think of a time you:
- overreacted to something,
- or made a change and nearly gave up before results appeared.

SITUATION:
____________________________________________

WHAT ACTION DID YOU TAKE?
____________________________________________

HOW LONG DID REAL EFFECTS TAKE TO SHOW?
____________________________________________

IF YOU HAD EXPECTED THAT DELAY, HOW WOULD
YOUR BEHAVIOUR HAVE CHANGED?
____________________________________________
  

5. Feedback Loops Revisited (with Stocks & Delays)

In Part 1A you met reinforcing and balancing loops. Now we add stocks and delays.

Reinforcing loop (R): More of A → more of B → even more of A. Example: Skill → Better work → More opportunities → More practice → More skill.

Balancing loop (B): More of A → increase in B → which pushes A back toward a target. Example: Temperature → Thermostat response → Heating/cooling → Temperature stabilised.

Add a stock and a delay and you get richer behaviour:

• Skill is a stock; practice and forgetting are flows; motivation is partly a response to perceived skill (feedback).
• Savings is a stock; income and spending are flows; perceived safety influences how much you save or risk (feedback).

Exercise — One Loop with a Delay

Pick a stock (skill, money, health, trust, etc.).

STOCK:
______________________________________

WHAT FLOW INCREASES IT?
______________________________________

WHAT FLOW DECREASES IT?
______________________________________

ONE FEEDBACK LOOP:
"When the stock increases, ______ happens,
which eventually changes the inflow/outflow by ______."

WHERE IS THERE A DELAY?
______________________________________

HOW MIGHT THIS CREATE OVERSHOOT OR UNDER-REACTION?
______________________________________
  

6. System Archetypes: Repeating Stories in Different Clothes

A system archetype is a recurring pattern of structure and behaviour that appears in many situations. The names vary across authors, but the underlying shapes are similar.

We’ll use simple working labels here—not as dogma, but as mental bookmarks:

6.1 Limits to Growth

Story: Things grow quickly for a while, then slow or stall because of a hidden constraint. Structure: One reinforcing loop (growth) + one balancing loop (constraint) sharing a key stock.

Examples:

• A business grows fast until talent or trust becomes a bottleneck.
• Your learning accelerates until sleep or energy becomes limiting.
• Social media reach increases until algorithmic changes or audience fatigue flatten it.

Exercise — Limits to Growth

WHERE HAVE YOU SEEN FAST GROWTH THAT LATER STALLED?

CONTEXT:
______________________________________

WHAT WAS GROWING? (stock)
______________________________________

WHAT HIDDEN CONSTRAINT EMERGED?
______________________________________

ONE STRUCTURAL CHANGE THAT COULD LIFT OR SHIFT THE LIMIT:
______________________________________
  

6.2 Shifting the Burden

Story: A quick fix eases symptoms but leaves the deeper cause untouched, sometimes weakening it further. Structure: One loop that treats symptoms + another loop (often slower) that addresses root causes.

Examples:

• Using caffeine and sugar to patch sleep deprivation.
• Using discounts to patch poor product–market fit.
• Using inspirational speeches instead of fixing broken processes.

Exercise — Shifting the Burden

QUICK FIX YOU (OR YOUR ORG) USE OFTEN:
______________________________________

WHAT SYMPTOM DOES IT RELIEVE?
______________________________________

WHAT ROOT CAUSE DOES IT LEAVE UNTOUCHED?
______________________________________

IF YOU INVESTED IN THE ROOT CAUSE FOR 6–12 MONTHS,
WHAT MIGHT THE SYSTEM LOOK LIKE?
______________________________________
  

6.3 Success to the Successful

Story: Two entities compete for limited resources; early advantages snowball, leaving one ahead and one behind. Structure: Two reinforcing loops drawing from a shared stock.

Examples:

• Two brands competing for attention.
• Two employees competing for stretch projects.
• Two ideas in your own mind competing for belief and effort.

Exercise — Success to the Successful

WHERE DO YOU SEE "WINNERS KEEP WINNING" DYNAMICS?

CONTEXT:
______________________________________

WHO/WHAT GOT THE EARLY ADVANTAGE?
______________________________________

WHAT RESOURCE IS SHARED (time, money, attention, talent)?
______________________________________

CAN YOU DESIGN A RULE THAT KEEPS THE SYSTEM FAIRER
WITHOUT DESTROYING INCENTIVES?
______________________________________
  

6.4 Tragedy of the Shared Resource

Story: Multiple actors draw from a shared resource; individually rational behaviour erodes the commons. Structure: Several reinforcing loops drawing from one finite stock.

Examples:

• Overfishing in a shared sea.
• Notification overload in a shared group chat.
• Burnout in volunteer teams where the same few people always step up.

Exercise — Shared Resource

NAME A SHARED RESOURCE YOU’RE PART OF:
(e.g., team attention, a shared budget, a social channel)
______________________________________

WHO IS DRAWING FROM IT?
______________________________________

WHAT HAPPENS IF EACH PERSON MAXIMISES THEIR OWN USE?
______________________________________

ONE RULE OR NORM THAT WOULD PROTECT THE COMMONS:
______________________________________
  

7. Bringing It Together — From Archetype to Action

The power of archetypes is not intellectual decoration. It is being able to say:

“This feels like a ‘limits to growth’ situation. I should look for constraints, not just push harder.” “This looks like ‘shifting the burden’. We’re sedated by the quick fix.” “This is ‘success to the successful’. Maybe we need rotation or rebalancing rules.”

When you can name the story, you can look for typical leverage points:

• Lift, move, or postpone the limit (for “limits to growth”).
• Invest deliberately in root causes (for “shifting the burden”).
• Design fairer allocation mechanisms (for “success to the successful” and shared resources).

Exercise — Name the Story, Choose a Lever

PICK ONE SITUATION IN YOUR LIFE/WORK:

CONTEXT:
______________________________________

WHICH ARCHETYPE DOES IT RESEMBLE MOST CLOSELY?
[ ] Limits to Growth
[ ] Shifting the Burden
[ ] Success to the Successful
[ ] Shared Resource / Commons

WHAT STOCK IS CENTRAL HERE?
______________________________________

WHAT IS ONE LEVER THAT FITS THIS ARCHETYPE?
(e.g. lift a constraint, reduce a quick fix, rebalance resources, protect a shared stock)
______________________________________
  

8. Cross-Discipline Examples (Interdisciplinary Logic in Action)

To keep this subject from being abstract, practice crossing boundaries.

• Biology → Learning: Immune systems “remember” exposures (stock) and adjust future responses (feedback). Your learning system does the same with concepts and mistakes.
• Finance → Skills: Interest compounding is a reinforcing loop; practice compounding is similar. Small, steady inputs over time beat sporadic bursts.
• Ecology → Teams: Diverse ecosystems are resilient; diverse teams and ideas increase resilience to shocks.

Template — Cross-Domain Analogy

SOURCE FIELD (e.g., biology, finance, ecology, music):
______________________________________

PATTERN OR ARCHETYPE:
______________________________________

TARGET FIELD (where you want to apply it):
______________________________________

STRUCTURAL SIMILARITIES (not superficial):
"In SOURCE, ______ corresponds to ______ in TARGET."

______________________________________
______________________________________

ONE SMALL EXPERIMENT IN THE TARGET FIELD:
______________________________________
  

9. A Simple Weekly Systems Ritual (Using Part 1A + 1B)

For the next week:

1. Each day, pick one situation (personal or professional).
2. Describe it as a system snapshot (from Part 1A): event → pattern → structure.
3. Identify at least one stock, one flow, and one delay (Part 1B).
4. Ask: “Does this resemble any archetype?”
5. Write one structural nudge you could test.

At the end of the week, choose the one nudge that seems most promising and commit to testing it for 7–30 days.

10. Future-Proof AI Prompt — “System Archetype Mentor”

You can use this generic prompt with any capable AI model over the next decade.

You are my System Archetype Mentor for
"Systems Thinking & Interdisciplinary Logic — Part 1B (Foundations)".

GOAL
Help me:
- identify stocks, flows, and delays in my real situations,
- recognise simple system archetypes,
- design small structural experiments.

ASK ME FIRST
1) Briefly describe one recurring situation I’m facing.
2) Tell you whether it’s personal, business, health, money, or relationships.
3) Describe what I’ve already tried and what keeps repeating.

PROCESS
1) Help me name:
   - at least one important stock,
   - at least one inflow and one outflow,
   - any obvious delays between cause and effect.
2) Suggest which archetype(s) this situation might resemble
   (limits to growth, shifting the burden, success to the successful,
    or shared resource / commons).
3) Explain the archetype in simple language, with a short analogy.
4) Propose 2–3 structural nudges I could test that fit that archetype.
5) Help me design a 7-day observation plan:
   - what to track,
   - how often,
   - what signs would show that the nudge is working.

STYLE
- Use plain language and short paragraphs.
- Keep theory brief; focus on concrete examples and actions.
- When you suggest an archetype, explain why (so I learn the pattern).

LIMITS & SAFETY
- Stay within everyday behavioural, organisational, and planning changes.
- If I raise issues involving serious harm, risk, or clinical topics,
  remind me you are not a therapist, doctor, or lawyer, and advise me
  to seek human professional support.
    

11. How 1B Sets You Up for the Rest of the Track

Once you can see stocks, flows, delays, and archetypes, later parts of this subject become much easier:

• When we talk about complexity, you’ll already have a vocabulary for interacting loops and time scales.
• When we talk about interdisciplinary logic, you’ll see how the same archetypes appear in psychology, finance, ecology, technology, and politics.
• When we talk about leverage, you’ll know to look for constraints, quick fixes, shared resources, and reinforcing advantages.

You are not expected to remember every label. You are invited to remember the questions:

• What is building up?
• What is flowing in/out?
• Where is there a delay?
• Which story does this resemble?

Version: v1.0 · Track: Systems Thinking & Interdisciplinary Logic · Module: Part 1B (Foundations) · Brand: Made2MasterAI™ · Educational; not clinical, financial, or legal advice.

Apply It Now (5 minutes)

1. One action: What will you do in 5 minutes that reflects this essay? (write 1 sentence)
2. When & where: If it’s [time] at [place], I will [action].
3. Proof: Who will you show or tell? (name 1 person)

You are my Micro-Action Coach. Based on this essay’s theme, ask me:
1) My 5-minute action,
2) Exact time/place,
3) A friction check (what could stop me? give a tiny fix),
4) A 3-question nightly reflection.
Then generate a 3-day plan and a one-line identity cue I can repeat.

🧠 AI Processing Reality… Commit now, then come back tomorrow and log what changed.