Control Theory and its Underpinning
From SAMVAD (Together In Conversation) by Sunil Rao
May 5, 2026 · 6 min
About this episode
This episode discusses Control Theory and its implications on human attention and perception.
Namaste, Welcome to SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation). In the last week of March 2026, I shared an excerpt titled ‘Thought, Perception and The Hidden Dimension’ , from the book – ‘The Hidden Dimension’ by Edward T. Hall. The central theme of the book is social and personal space and man’s (Human being) perception of it.It highlighted that, Communication constitutes the core of culture and indeed life itself and language, is more than just a medium for expressing thought. It is, in fact, a major element in the formation of thought . And finally, Man has elaborated his extensions to such a degree that we are apt to forget that this humanness is rooted in his animal nature. Now, SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation) to the ones paying heed, is where we try to draw your attention to things that matter and the importance of your attention, because , ‘Our life’s experience would ultimately amount to whatever we had paid attention to’. Attention: is as fundamental as food; and we go blundering about, seeking ways to assuage the craving, instead of learning how to provide ourselves with what we need, sensibly and calmly. Once our attention is drawn to the mechanism of why and what we…
People in this episode
Host: Sunil Rao
Topics covered
- Control Theory
- Attention
- Communication
- Human Perception
- Social Space
Keywords
- Control Theory
- Attention
- Communication
- Human Perception
- Social Space
- Edward T. Hall
- Human Compatible
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: The Hidden Dimension, Human Compatible – AI and the Problem of Control
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