Capable Quote by Anthony Stafford Beer
“According to the science of cybernetics, which deals with the topic of control in every kind of system (mechanical, electronic, biological, human, economic, and so on), there is a natural law that governs the capacity of a control system to work. It says that the control must be capable of generating as much "variety" as the situation to be controlled.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Cybernetics and Management, 1972
A control system must have enough complexity to match the complexity of what it controls, otherwise it fails.
In simple terms: Control needs enough variety to handle its environment.
Key Takeaway
Match system complexity to problem complexity.
Themes
control
complexity
systems
adaptation
Mood
analytical
concerned
Type
theoretical
practical
When to use this quote
- organizational management
- software design
- biological regulation
- economic policy
- engineering control
Key Concepts
cybernetics
variety law
feedback loops
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you increase a system's variety?
- What are signs of insufficient variety?
A Different Perspective
If the system's variety is insufficient, it cannot respond effectively, leading to breakdown.
![“[The Community's] crosses and trials give me confidence. But I derive my hope above all, and most especially, from our utter incapacity, for it is always upon nothingness that God is pleased to rear His works. If at any day we accomplish some good here, the glory will certainly be His alone, since…” quote by Theodore Guerin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/2b8/theodore-guerin-54729_accomplish_the-community-s-crosses-and-trials-give_7176.jpg)
