[From Bill Powers (960412.0900 MDT)]
Bruce Gregory (960412.1015) --
The Third Patriarch of Zen in China displayed a remarkable grasp of
PCT. He said
"The Great Way is not difficult for those who have no
preferences."
A preference is clearly a reference level, and since all controlled
variables have reference levels, the Third Patriarch was apparently
telling us that the less we struggle to control the easier life
is....
The translation, I think, should have been " The Great Way is not
difficult for those who have no FIXED preferences." A fixed reference
level can't be adjusted by higher systems in pursuit of higher goals,
and thus makes the part of the hierarchy below it into a separate
organism at odds with the rest -- an obsession.
And of course "struggling to control" implies conflict, doesn't it?
I, too, am boggled at the concept of Rick Marken being tickled by Rush
Limbaugh. When is the video coming out, Rick?
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Best,
Bill P.