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.
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[ 3.3 ms ] story [ 13.6 ms ] threadPeople 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.