PCT Error
- aka "energy" sez PJ Eby
- aka creative tension sez Robert Fritz
- realized
- twitter thread draft - tweeted
- I want a short word that means precisely "PCT Error", ie "the gap between a reference level and a perception, for any ontum at any level of the control system hierarchy."
"Error" has "mistake" connotations
"Desire" sounds too inherently-meaningful
twitter.com/Malcolm_Ocean/status/1363263449271201792 - "Want" is also close to "PCT Error", but is confusable for the concept of the reference level itself.
Maybe less so historically, when "want" often meant "lack", as in the Selkirk Grace: - But "want" still connotes umm... okay so like a "goal" is another way to point at "reference level"
twitter.com/CompliceGoals/status/1204496383685861377 - Robert Fritz's concept of "creative tension" is almost exactly pointing at the right thing, but first of all it's too LONG.
Oh! Second of all, his concept of "oscillating tension" approximately refers to one mode of two PCT Errors being in conflict.
twitter.com/Malcolm_Ocean/status/1127952096232464385 - "Urge" comes to mind. I like the connection with how the Coherence Therapy folks talk about how any symptom is "urgently needed" by the client in the context in which it is produced, as they're construing that context.
twitter.com/Malcolm_Ocean/status/1215844953299001344 - @pjeby explores calling this "energy" instead, but that has a bunch of other connotations ranging from the idea that it should be conserved to the thing hippies mean when they talk about somebody's energy.
Plus sometimes it's stuck; more like opposing forces than energy.
13 linked references
December 28th, 2024
- PCT Error - maybe "arrow" could be the term?
- I notice that one issue is that I'd like the word to sorta make sense out of context maybe? which arrow doesn't.
- like if you go into a room and say "okay what are everybody's arrows?" then lol good luck
- but maybe it's enough that it's at least not misleading on that front; it's okay from a sparkly pink purple ball thing perspective
April 29th, 2023
- "yearn" feels kinda close... desiderata
- but it's so impossibly hard to find a word that doesn't already connote either
- the target / reference level itself, not the gap
- goal
- a sense of lack or wrongness or mistake
- error
- and insofar as there is an existing word for this.... it's "intention"
- which has its roots in turning towards & stretching out
- interesting coincidental similarity with aka creative tension sez Robert Fritz
- well, actually not coincidental
- the "stretching" is at the root of both!
February 20th, 2023
quote about wondrously workable neuroses: › Spacious Passion: Chapter 3 – Spontaneity › > "The Lama is reflective because the Lama knows the non-… › huh, vaguely musing about the relationship between neurot…
- maybe in some sense while you're in an egoic strategy, you're also sort of in a meta-level sense neurotic, because you can resolve your own PCT Error/gaps but you can't track collective error so you're constantly creating problems for others??
March 22nd, 2021
- criticism requires a shared purpose (this relates to PCT Error actually)
March 20th, 2021
- hmm this relates to the PCT Error naming puzzle
Home
- When I use the word "need" or "want" or "careabout" or "desire" in this piece of writing, I'm pointing at, fundamentally, a cybernetic control system set point. See PCT or PCT Error for more about this.
- What makes one a need, vs a want, might be essentially, as my friend Catherio put it:
- "if this goes unmet, I will make substantial changes to my life"
- Said needs & wants include things on every level from psychological safety & meaning to food & water & shelter, and probably stuff Maslow forget to mention.
March 7th, 2021
This tweet is relevant to NNTD feedback loops conversatio… › I might frame them instead as › A) 😐 Neutral observation
- I don't have any particular PCT Error here
This tweet is relevant to NNTD feedback loops conversatio… › I might frame them instead as › C) 😓 I need/prefer your behaviour to change in future
- There is some PCT Error in my system related to this thing you did that I can't settle for. Something needs to change.
This tweet is relevant to NNTD feedback loops conversatio… › I might frame them instead as › B) 😕 This hurt me, but you are not at fault (be with me,…
- B = I'm hurting/PCT Erroring from this but it's not related to you; I just want you to listen & be with me
- B↔C = This thing you did caused some minor PCT Error in my system, but I don't think it would be useful for you to try to change to