[From Rick Marken (2014.02.19.1420)]
This chapter is about getting the “feel” for control using the “LiveBlock” model of a control system, which is available (for people on PCs; people on Macs or tablets can go out and get a cheap PC, I suppose) at:
https://sites.google.com/site/perceptualcontroldemos/
So the assignment for this chapter is simply to do the experiments with the LiveBlock program that Bill suggests and then post any comments you have about what you might have learned (or think you learned) about the behavior of a control system.
My only “guidance” is to try to keep in mind that the demo is designed to give you a feel for control as it would be seen in a living control system; it’s a highly simplified model of the inner workings of living systems that we see behaving purposefully (controlling). So try to imagine how the variables that correspond to observable behavior – the variables below the System-Environment boundary in the LiveBlock display – are seen in actual behavior. For example, when you see a person skiing down a hill, what is one (or some) of the input variables being controlled, what is the output (or outputs) that keeps the variables under control and what are the disturbances that affect the status of these input variables.
Best
Rick
···
–
Richard S. Marken PhD
www.mindreadings.com
The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.
-- Bertrand Russell