Re: Mental Models-Inflation Feedback Loops As Recursive Algos.

In thinking about inflation feedback loops,” I have been toying with a mental model borrowed from computer science, RECURSION, which I think neatly encapsulates the problem and points to a “way out.”

In computer science, a RECURSIVE function/algorithm involves a function that calls itself, much like the mythological “Ourobouros” consumes itself — there is no seeming end to a recursive loop.

A simple example of a problem easily solved by recursion is a function that computes the factorial of a number n. Recall that factorial(n) is mathematically repre…