Wikibooks: World of Dinosaurs/Feedback Loops

• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Subjects: permafrost
• Online Access: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/World_of_Dinosaurs/Feedback_Loops

A feedback loop occurs when two things change together repeatedly. = Examples = I eat one donut on Monday. On Tuesday I crave sugar so I eat TWO donuts. On Wednesday I really crave sugar so I eat THREE donuts. Etc. Carbon in the atmosphere warms climate. Permafrost thaws at the poles releasing more hydrocarbons into the atmosphere. The climate warms etc. I do origami for fun and give the models to people. People give me origami paper. I make more models and give them to more people etc. = Pop Culture Note = In casual conversation people often use the phrase vicious cycle to describe a feedback loop. From what I can tell this was popularized by quoting a scene from a movie released in 1999 which. did not age well. Ironically the movie scene describes a POSITIVE FEEDBACK LOOP but it concerns an unhappy topic so the phenomenon is characterized as a vicious cycle . This leads to odd conversations 20 years later e.g. It s like a vicious cycle! But like not bad you know? Using the term feedback loop is much easier and more practical. Cause and effect are typically difficult to discern in deep time research (fossils ancient life etc.). Realistically most natural events that we characterize as having a simple cause and effect involve much more complex feedback loops. This class will focus on the Mesozoic Cenozoic transition to appreciate a major positive feedback loop in Earth history. = Dynamic Equilibrium = This describes systems that tend to settle into a balance. Casual example 1 00 PM Few shoppers are trying to check out at Smiths so the manager tells some staffers to go on break. 1 10 PM More shoppers line up and now there are two long lines. 1 20 PM As staffers come off of break the manager sends them to registers. 1 30 PM The two long lines of shoppers are spread out across five check out stations. 1 40 PM Two of the staffers have no one in their line so the manager asks one to get carts and another to take lunch. 1 50 PM It s pretty easy to check out at Smiths. Thanks dynamic equilibrium! Dynamic means shifting ...