Learning by Doing

This forum contains all archives from the SD Mailing list (go to http://www.systemdynamics.org/forum/ for more information). This is here as a read-only resource, please post any SD related questions to the SD Discussion forum.
Locked
"Raymond T. Joseph"
Junior Member
Posts: 17
Joined: Fri Mar 29, 2002 3:39 am

Learning by Doing

Post by "Raymond T. Joseph" »

<snip>
>I deprecate the plug the numbers into the software and let the magic box
work it out approach.
>Geoff

I totally understand the apprehension for plug and crank. But it does have
its place. I would like to relate this through a personal experience. As a
new student in electrical engineering, we solved network problems daily.
For a few months with linear algebra and real numbers that represented
linear, time invariant, passive networks, and then we moved on to complex
numbers that represented steady state, linear, time invariant, reactive
networks (dynamic). At first, I didnt comprehend the meaning of the
mathematics behind the calculations. But I carried them out over and over.
Eventually, it became more and more clear as to what it all meant - how the
mathematical operations related to I/O behavior of a network. The pure
repetition provided my slow mind sufficient support to build not only the
basic understanding but to build a feeling.

This same procedure occurred for transient analysis of networks using
differential equations. At first it was totally foreign. Do it several
hundred times and everything began to look like a DE.

The calculations were first carried out by hand, then calculator then
computer. This order made me appreciate the use of computers but I am not
sure that the hand calculations did anything else. When I build a system to
simulate now, I just drop a dataset on top of an icon and my desktop
explodes into graphs. I chose the set of graphs I want to see. I love how
fast huge system can be analyzed - making it easy to get my arms around
massive problems and get a good feel for them.

Do what ever it take to get the individual to get a feel for the operation
of the system under study.

Raymond T. Joseph, PE
rtjoseph@ev1.net
Aarden Control Engineering and Science
Locked