Chapter 45
Building a Modeling Community
I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the
waters to create many ripples.
(Mother Teresa)
The models and concepts that we developed in this book are powerful means to
investigate the behavior of biological and ecological systems. The modeling
approach that we chose is dynamic with regard to four issues. First, the systems
that we modeled are dynamic ones, and we portray their dynamics, rather than use a
static or comparative-static approach or a statistical model. Second, our model
development process itself is dynamic. We encouraged you to start with simple
models of complex systems. You will soon find that your models become increasingly complicated but more representative of the system about which you are asking
important questions. STELLA, through its use of graphics, is an excellent tool to
organize and assess the various aspects of the system that you wish to capture. Once
the model system is sufficiently understood, you can easily move on to expand on
the model and capture additional features of the real system.
Third, the learning process that accompanies model development and model
runs is a dynamic one. By carefully phrasing the questions that the model should
answer, and by stating the assumptions that underlie the model that we develop, we
structure our knowledge about a system. By running the model and observing the
results we learn about some aspect of a system. Subsequent model runs and model
refinements provide more of this insight and should sharpen our focus for future
model development and improve our intuition about the behavior of dynamic
systems.
Fourth, through building and running computer models we provide a basis for
communicating data and model assumptions. Frequently, model efforts become
A save-disabled version of STELLA and the computer models of this book are available at
www.iseesystems.com/modelingdynamicbiologicalsystems.
B. Hannon and M. Ruth, Modeling Dynamic Biological Systems,
Modeling Dynamic Systems, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-05615-9_45,
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
427
Building a Modeling Community
I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the
waters to create many ripples.
(Mother Teresa)
The models and concepts that we developed in this book are powerful means to
investigate the behavior of biological and ecological systems. The modeling
approach that we chose is dynamic with regard to four issues. First, the systems
that we modeled are dynamic ones, and we portray their dynamics, rather than use a
static or comparative-static approach or a statistical model. Second, our model
development process itself is dynamic. We encouraged you to start with simple
models of complex systems. You will soon find that your models become increasingly complicated but more representative of the system about which you are asking
important questions. STELLA, through its use of graphics, is an excellent tool to
organize and assess the various aspects of the system that you wish to capture. Once
the model system is sufficiently understood, you can easily move on to expand on
the model and capture additional features of the real system.
Third, the learning process that accompanies model development and model
runs is a dynamic one. By carefully phrasing the questions that the model should
answer, and by stating the assumptions that underlie the model that we develop, we
structure our knowledge about a system. By running the model and observing the
results we learn about some aspect of a system. Subsequent model runs and model
refinements provide more of this insight and should sharpen our focus for future
model development and improve our intuition about the behavior of dynamic
systems.
Fourth, through building and running computer models we provide a basis for
communicating data and model assumptions. Frequently, model efforts become
A save-disabled version of STELLA and the computer models of this book are available at
www.iseesystems.com/modelingdynamicbiologicalsystems.
B. Hannon and M. Ruth, Modeling Dynamic Biological Systems,
Modeling Dynamic Systems, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-05615-9_45,
© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2014
427