Control
What does it mean to have something under control?
My epiphany on this topic occurred where one would have least expected it.
Back in the early 70s, when I was taking graduate courses at Stanford in pursuit of a Ph.D. in Systems Theory, one of my courses delved into the arcane mathematical underpinnings of Feedback Control Theory, which is at the core of Cybernetic Systems Theory.
Partway into the course, we came to the Fundamental Theorem of Feedback Control Theory which spelled out the necessary and sufficient requirements for an arbitrary system to be controllable.
Not surprising, the first half of the Theorem stated that there must be some controls that, if accessed and manipulated suitably, could drive the system to an arbitrary goal state.
But it was the second half of the Theorem that was the eye-opener (both figuratively and literally). The second half of the Fundamental Theorem of Feedback Control Theory stated that there must also be an observation process that can reliably determine the current state of the system at all times, so as to compare it against the goal state.
You cannot drive your car with your eyes closed or in the dark with no illumination or if the windshield frosts over and becomes opaque. Flying blind is simply not an option.
Notice that self-driving cars are thick with all manner of sensors, far more sensory channels than a human driver has.
So, is that a new idea? Hardly. Another synonym for Observer is ‘Witness’. How far back in history can we go to find a similar notion on the profound importance of Bearing Accurate Witness (and the associated taboo against bearing false witness)?
Most root words in Hebrew are 3-letter words. For obvious reasons, there aren’t very many 2-letter words (in any language). In Hebrew, the word for ‘Witness’ is a 2-letter word, Ayin-Dalet. The Hebrew letter Ayin, ע, is also a word that means ‘Eye’. The Hebrew letter Dalet, ד, is also a word that means ‘Door’. The word for ‘Witness’, עד, suggests that one is looking out the door, bearing witness to see what is going on beyond one’s home and hearth.
Bearing Accurate Witness is a Big Deal. A really big deal.
In every culture, there is a cultural motto or affirmation. In Judaism, the most significant cultural affirmation is the affirmation of One God. In English, it goes like this:
“Hear, Oh, Israel: Adonay is God, Adonay is One.”
In Hebrew: “Shema Yisrael: Adonay Elohenu, Adonay Echad.”
In Hebrew, it’s called the ‘Shema’ because ‘Shema is the Hebrew word for ‘Listen up and pay attention’. The last letter in the Hebrew word ‘Shema’ is Ayin. The last word of the ‘Shema’ is ‘Echad’ which is the Hebrew word for ‘One.” The last letter of ‘Echad’ is Dalet.
In the hand-calligraphed Torah scroll, the Shema exactly fits on one line. But what’s odd about it is that the Ayin in ‘Shema’ and the Dalet in ‘Echad’ are calligraphed in oversized lettering. The reader recites the Shema, but the reader also sees the Ayin-Dalet standing out in oversized lettering, reminding the reader of the power and significance of bearing silent witness.
And that’s the insight. That’s the epiphany. We can achieve ‘control’ by doing nothing more than bearing silent witness.
When I explained this to a class of journalism students a long time ago, one of them, an artist, made this for me:
