REPLY Please Capitalize System Dynamics (SD6350)

[SDMAIL George Richardson]

Posted by  George Richardson <gpr at albany.edu>

Lots if interesting, sophisticated thoughts here.  I wonder if we  
might take a rather simple (unsophisticated?) instrumental approach.

Suppose we think that in something we are writing "system  
dynamics" (small S, small D) would be interpreted not as a field of  
scholarly study and practice but just as "ups and downs in a  
system."  But suppose we wanted to flag we're talking about a field.   
Then it seems right to  capitalize:  "System Dynamics."  The capitals  
would tell the reader that what we mean at that moment is a set of  
scholarly traditions, literature, professional practice, and tools.

If on the other hand, we don't think we'd run into that confusion of  
field vs. topic, then we just write the name of the field as "system  
dynamics" (small S, small D).  Personally, I like the small letters,  
so that we look more like the way other (more established?) fields  
handle it.  I'd like us to look established and confident in our  
excellence and place in the scholarly, professional panoply and feel  
that the small S, small D implicitly helps to send that sort of message.

This sort of an instrumental approach is probably what we're doing  
now, since sometimes we see the capitals and sometimes we don't.  
And  it would mean we could continue to be loose about it (which we  
probably will anyway) and feel good about that, as if that looseness  
had a plan, a rationale.

(On another hand, we could change the name.  But that's another topic.)

..George 
Posted by  George Richardson <gpr at albany.edu>
posting date  Fri, 23 Mar 2007 10:07:26 -0400