results of his past performance. Nowadays torpedoes
are one hundred percent accurate because they are
wire guided. A wire is connected to a computer on
board the submarine and it is also connected to the
torpedo. As the torpedo rushes towards its target,
feedback is sent down the wire from the computer on
the submarine that enables corrections to be made
until it finally hits its' target.
Let's look at another situation, one most of us are
familiar with. Let's say you're throwing darts at a dart
board. You say internally, "I'm going to hit the double
twenty." With the first dart you miss, but you saw the
dart go a little to the left. When you throw the next
dart, you say internally, "OK, this time I have to throw
the dart a little harder and over to the right." This
time you get a little nearer your target. You have
increased your performance by using feedback. The
third dart goes straight into the double twenty, and as
you threw it you said, "OK, this time not so hard and
just a little more to the right" Bingo! Double twenty!
You kept increasing your performance through the
use of feedback. If you were blindfolded you would
not be able to increase your performance through the
use of feedback, not unless there was a friend of
your's watching out for you and shouting
instructions. However, if you were blindfolded and
had too many friends shouting instructions you'd be
no better off, you'd just be confused. Too much
feedback is just as bad as too little feedback.
In the Navy when a Captain shouts an order to a
subordinate he must immediately repeat it back to the
Captain to show that he has heard and understood.
It's this kind of feedback that prevents mistakes from
happening.
Another interesting example would be how we
tend to drive an auto on an icy road. Our entire