Balancing

Look for the loop that pushes back. Here the result counteracts the very change that produced it, holding the system near an implicit set point, which explains why a number sticks at one level instead of running away.

Look for the loop that pushes back. Here the result counteracts the very change that produced it, holding the system near an implicit set point, which explains why a number sticks at one level instead of running away.

Example

Once your unread count passes roughly 200, you start deleting ruthlessly and ignoring low-priority senders, volume drops, you relax, and it climbs again. The pile hovers near 200. Any fix that leaves your pain threshold untouched gets absorbed by this loop.