A living system is analogous to an instrumental air flight where the pilot does not have access to the outside world and must function only as a controller of the indicators shown on his flight instruments.
What occurs in a living system is analogous to what occurs in an instrumental flight where the pilot does not have access to the outside world and must function only as a controller of the values shown in his flight instruments. His task is to secure a path of variations in the readings of his instruments, either according to a prescribed plan, or to one that becomes specified by these readings. When the pilot steps out of the plane he is bewildered by the congratulations of his friends on account of the perfect flight and landing that he performed in absolute darkness. He is perplexed because to his knowledge all that he did at any moment was to maintain the readings of all his instruments within certain specified limits, a task which is in no way represented by the description that his friends (observers) make of his conduct. (BC 81)
This page was last updated on July 9, 1996, by Rob Sable.