Newsgroups: bit.listserv.csg-l
Date:         Sun, 15 Nov 1992 16:11:00 GMT
From:         Henry James Bicycles Inc <0005096370@MCIMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Judging Theories By Using PCT

[From Hank Folson (921115)]

Being interested in PCT applications, I came up with a list of 7 questions
which are intended to be an application of PCT principles. The goal is to
efficiently evaluate other theories, in case there is a better one than PCT.
After all, there has to be something better than a theory that says: 1. You
want to control everybody because you are an independent control system, and
2. You can't control anybody because they are all independent control
systems. The world would be in a terrible mess if it ran on that basis.

Penni answered them about Interactionism, and here is my answering of them
about PCT, with the reasons for the questions in []. Bill Powers can correct
my sloppy scholarship.

>1.  Will you give me a couple of sentences long grossly oversimplified
>outline of the theory?
See Mary Powers(921111) or Dag Forssell(921112)
[This just gives you a rough idea about what the theory covers. It may
allow you to see that there is no relationship to your interests.]

>2.  Who developed the theory? About when?
William T. Powers, Clarke and about 30-40 years ago.
[This gives you an idea about the background of the theorists and a time
frame so you have some idea of how mature or complete the theory is.]

>3.  What did (s)he believe in before (s)he came up with the theory?
Bill Powers was studying traditional psychology.
[This is straight PCT. The question is looking for the error signals that
drove the new theory.]

>4.  What did his/her old belief lack that the theory offered?
Traditional psychology is based on a stimulus-response model, which Bill
felt did not fully explain behavior. PCT offered an explanation of how
living organisms function.
[Again straight PCT. How did the new theory reduce the error signals in the
creators?]

>5. Where did the basic idea of the theory come from?
Bill had been involved as a technician in WW II with control systems for
naval guns. He made a connection between mechanical control systems and
organically based ones.
[New ideas are the result of reorganization of our experiences, per PCT.
Evaluating the meaning of this answer can be very difficult. What does
aiming guns at airplanes have to do with how living organisms work?]

>6. How well has the theory worked for those who use it?
Well, it has given Bill Powers an interesting avocation.... Ed Ford and
others are successfully applying it to counseling and education. Franz
Plooij has done impressive work in biology. And so on.
[This question gets to the applications of the theory. The proof is in the
pudding.]

>7.  Has any independent research backed up the theory's claims?
My two favorites are: Studies of E. coli bacteria by a non PCTer showed
that it functions quite well using a very simple control system. This is an
evolutionary stepping stone for the more complex control systems in humans.
Plooij studied the nipple rooting instinct in monkeys from a PCT point of
view. (In traditional psychology for "instinct" read "magic"). He found that
the lactating monkey mommy has a temperature gradient across her breast
increasing towards the nipple. The baby monkey has temperature sensors in
its lips. A simple control system leads the baby monkey to move its mouth
towards higher temperatures. When it bites down on the nipple, other control
systems take over.
[This finds examples of real world proof or application of the theory for
your evaluation.]

Note that if these questions were asked about PCT 30 years ago, the answers
would not have been as complete. The questioner would have to wait for years
for confirmation, or help to study/prove the theory, or decide for or
against the theory with incomplete information.

Theoretically, Hank Folson
Henry James Bicycles, Inc. 704 Elvira Avenue, Redondo Beach, CA 90277
310-540-1552 (Day & Evening) MCI MAIL: 509-6370 Internet: 5096370@MCIMAIL.COM
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