

The Illusion of Control - evac
http://zenhabits.net/control/

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drcube
There is a whole field in engineering called "control theory". You can build
controllers for both deterministic and stochastic systems. There is also such
a thing as "adaptive control", which attempts to learn about and compensate
for changes in the system.

People are controllers. It's what we do. In fact, control is a requirement for
life. Rocks don't control anything, but fish absolutely do. They control what
they eat, they control how their bodies move in the water. They attempt to
control -- often unsuccessfully -- whether or not they are eaten by predators.

If you had titled your article "The Illusion of Perfect Control", I would be
in 100% agreement. But just because something isn't and can never be perfect
doesn't mean that it is an illusion or doesn't exist.

