feedback-loopslisted

# Feedback Loops ## Overview A system has a **feedback loop** when its output circles back as input to the next cycle. **Reinforcing loops** amplify (compound interest, viral growth, bank runs, death spirals). **Balancing loops** self-correct (thermostats, price discovery, immune response). The critical complication is **delay**: when delay is long relative to response time, even well-designed balancing loops produce oscillation and overshoot — and operators systematically mismanage the system (Sterman 1989: supply-line underweight = 0.34 on a 0–1 scale). Composes with: [`second-order-thinking`](../second-order-thinking/SKILL.md) · [`s-curve-technology-adoption`](../s-curve-technology-adoption/SKILL.md) · [`prisoners-dilemma`](../prisoners-dilemma/SKILL.md) · [`probabilistic-thinking`](../probabilistic-thinking/SKILL.md) ## When to Use Apply when: system shows non-linear surprise (collapse, oscillation, death spiral, growth flywheel); you are intervening in a complex system and success depends on how it responds; trends are not extrapolating well; bullwhip or oscillation in any quantity that should be steady. **When NOT to use:** one-shot linear decision with no feedback; insufficient data to map loops (hand-waving without structure); decision too time-bounded for delays to matter; exogenous shock dominates internal dynamics. ## Coaching Novices (Adaptive Front Door) - **Engine mode:** concrete case → run The Process directly. - **Coach mode:** unfamiliar or no concre