Analysis has served us well in developing the understanding of things, at least to a point. Though analysis will not allow us to answer the why questions about things. For that we need synthesis. One might consider analysis and synthesis two sides of a coin that one shouldn't attempt to separate.
Developing a strategy for dealing with a situation begins with a description of the situation and the preferred state for today, not in some distant future, and the perceived implications of not doing anything.
The problem with microworlds is that too often people simply learn to play the game and the deeper lessons associated with the underlying structure and its associated patterns of behavior are completely missed. It is more appropriate for people to build and work with models to develop a deeper understanding of the relationships and then relate them to family, community, school and the world.
An infinite number of mathematicians walk into a bar. The first one tells the bartender he wants a beer. The second one says he wants half a beer. The third one says he wants a fourth of a beer. The bartender puts two beers on the bar and says “You guys need to learn your limits.” From Wild About Math.
Causal loop diagrams are more rigorous than rich pictures though are still only contain a very few elements with well defined rules for connecting them.
The goal seeking structure endeavors to bring a balance between a current state and a desired state. This is one of the two foundation archetypes. The other being the growth structure. See also Archetypes.
A system is an entity that the existence of which is maintained via the mutual interaction of its parts and which demonstrates characteristics not exhibited by any of its parts.
An escalation structure results from two or more competing entities with the competition taking them to somewhere none of them want to be. See also Archetypes.
Our actions are based on our beliefs and the results of those actions are the basis for our beliefs. The difficulty we create for ourselves is that we make assumptions as to how to interpret the results we select based on our beliefs. As a result we are often operating on a flawed perspective of reality.
When the typical approach doesn't work we tend to rely on our tried and true problem solving approaches, which as you will see really aren't that good.
A Systems Archetype has a very well defined structure that produces a characteristic pattern of behavior and there are well defined strategies for dealing with the structure.
From reading Why Politics Makes Us Stupid by Ezra Klein I though I had discovered a new archetype though it's really just a simple reinforcing structure, or so it seems.