From [Fred Nickols (960926.1755 EST)]
Re: Bill Powers (960926.0530 MDT)
Since most scientists have believed that behavior is
caused by input stimuli, no serious attempt was made
to examine the situation for aspects that might demand
some other explanation.
Frankly, this notion has always puzzled me. I used to
hang around with a bunch of "radical behaviorists" as they
termed themselves, and I was always fascinated by the
way in which they could lay out a theory and explanation
of behavior that simply didn't account for their act of laying
it out. When confronted by this, they got visibly upset. So
I twisted the knife, so to speak, by suggesting to them that
their discomfort probably stemmed from the interruption of
a continuous schedule of reinforcement. That really drove
'em up the wall.
. . . how is it that the tongue is aimed so accurately that
its sticky tip arrives at a place four or five inches away with
an accuracy measured by the combined diameters of the
tip of the tongue and of the fly?
The process is much like aiming a gun at a target and
pulling the trigger.
<big snip>
Apparently, for performing rapid actions where control would
be next to impossible during the action, it's important to
maintain a stable base so that the aiming point will reliably
determine where the sudden action will go.
<little snip>
When the prey can detect approaching danger and start
moving in an unpredictable direction to avoid it, it's necessary
to make the act as rapid as possible; the more rapid the
action, the more important it becomes to be able to hit a
selected point whether or not anything is still there at the
end of the action.
What you've just described, Bill, is the essence of the fire
control problem, that is, of how to fire a gun and hit a target
when:
a) the deck of the ship on the gun is mounted is rolling
and pitching
b) the ship itself is moving through the water
c) the target is moving
d) in the case of a target that is a piloted plane, "the prey"
is taking evasive action
A stable platform is provided by a gyroscope. It maintains
a horizontal plane, regardless of pitch and roll. The amount
of pitch and roll can be measured and compensated for. The
movement of the target can be tracked and its future position
predicted. The gun can be aimed so as to allow for trajectory,
wind, atmospheric conditions, and even the burning time of
the powder that will propel the projectile. Lots and lots of
feedback loops and servomechanisms in this kind of system.
That's why, when I left the Navy, I opted for a career in
consulting instead of heading for the shipyard. I figured this
control stuff was good stuff and I could sell the hell out of it.
I retired in 1974. I read your book in 1975. Good stuff, Bill.
Regards,
Fred Nickols
nickols@aol.com