Living Control Systems Publishing

Introductions and comments by Bill Powers

10 Minutes Bill Powers's suggestion for a ten-minute introduction to PCT	ten_minutes.pdf
An Introduction to Perceptual Control Theory — Standing at the Crossroads Many people have some sense of what control is about, but very few understand clearly how control works and even fewer (including control engineers) understand clearly what a control systems controls: Not "output" or "action" but perception of whatever is being controlled; that which action accomplishes. When you stop to think about it, you realize that a control system knows nothing about output or actions; it "knows" only what it senses. The distinction may seem trivial, but the consequences are profound. Bill Powers puts it all in context.	crossroads.pdf
An Essay on the Obvious A hard-hitting essay by the creator of PCT on what you see when you look at behavior through the eyes of a physical scientist.	on_the _obvious.pdf
Things I’d like to say if they wouldn’t think I’m a nut Or — Overgeneralizations that aren’t that far over. Another hard-hitting comment on the state of our contemporary behavioral sciences.	things_to_say.pdf
The Neglected Phenomenon of Negative Feedback Control Control of perception has been reported at very basic levels of life.	neglected _phenomenon.pdf
The Underpinnings of PCT; Systems Theory and PCT A discussion of the origin of PCT.	underpinnings _pct.pdf
On emotions and PCT: A brief overview Explaining emotion from a PCT perspective.	on_emotions.pdf
BYTE Articles The BYTE articles are a book unto themselves – a four-part introduction to PCT and modeling.	byte_june_1979.pdf byte_july_1979.pdf byte_aug_1979.pdf byte_sep_1979.pdf
Perceptual Control Theory at 40 This intro to PCT is slanted toward those coming into to this subject from the physical sciences. Bill Powers develops an argument that leads from conventional views of behavior to the new view that PCT gives us, emphasizing in the end the odd role that organisms, seen through the eyes of PCT, play in a world otherwise dominated by physical laws. The point will be to show that control theory provides us with the germ of a radically new understanding, a break with all traditional theories of behavior—and many new ones as well	pct_at_40.pdf
About Stimulus Response Theory and Perceptual Control Theory A short post to the Control System Group network (CSGnet) on the difference between cataloging behaviors and modeling systems that use behaviors to control perceptions.	about_sr_pct.pdf
Experience, Reality, and HPCT A short post to CSGnet on how we think about our senses, our experiences, and how we draw conclusions about the reality we live in (or whether we think we observe reality directly and merely need to report what we observe.	experience _reality.pdf
On Computing Output Notes on the notion that the brain plans our movements and issues commands to muscles, pre-computing the precise muscle movements for people or robots.	computing _output.pdf
A New Muscle Model If you are going to reverse engineer and then simulate living organisms and how they move about, it is important to simulate all the physics correctly, such as the ray tracing included in the Little Man. Here is a paper that offers significant improvements regarding simulating the actions of muscles.	muscle_model.pdf
The origins of purpose: the first metasystem transitions A proposal that the the emergence of negative feedback control and the emergence of life are the same thing. A picture emerges in which the basic principle of control runs like a unifying thread from the first living molecules to modern complex organisms.	evolution _purpose.pdf

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