Good regulator

The good regulator is a theorem conceived by Roger C. Conant and W. Ross Ashby that is central to cybernetics. It is stated that "every good regulator of a system must be a model of that system".

Any regulator that is maximally successful and simple must be isomorphic with the system being regulated. This makes a model necessary. With regard to the brain, insofar as it is successful and efficient as a regulator for survival, it must proceed, in learning, by the formation of a model (or models) of its environment.^[1]

The theorem is general enough to apply to all regulating and self-regulating or homeostatic systems.

The theorem does not explain what it takes for the system to become a good regulator. The problem of creation of good regulators is addressed by practopoietic theory.

See also

• Analogy#Mathematics
• Variety (cybernetics)
• Practopoiesis

References

1. ↑ Conant and Ashby, Int. J. Systems Sci., 1970, vol 1, No 2, pp. 89–97

External links

• Int. J. Systems Sci., 1970, vol. 1, No. 2, 89-97 EVERY GOOD REGULATOR OF A SYSTEM MUST BE A MODEL OF THAT SYSTEM Roger C. Conant and W. Ross Ashby
• Daniel L. Scholten discusses in his "Every Good Key Must Be A Model Of The Lock It Opens"
• The Good-Regulator Project by Daniel L. Scholten