Dr. B or: How I learned to stop worrying and love Feedback Theory

It was a strange feeling that day. I was a newbie at the university, trying to find out where lecture room 227A was. Being born with a pathetic 3D sense, I was going around in circles inside the Zachry building. When I finally found it, my pent up expectations sort of took a hit. I was expecting a classroom rich with décor, style and modernity, but what I saw was just another classroom like the ones we have in India – a large board, worn out projector system, closely spaced seating area with a couple of broken chairs. A few minutes passed and the clock ticked past 10 am and the professor who I expected to be on time still didn’t arrive. So, we waited some more and after ten or so minutes, in walked Dr. B with a crumpled shirt, a pair of soggy pants, a cup of coffee in his hand and a strange, but serene smile on his face. He had this small bump on his head which was funny as hell. Never the less, that’s when I bumped into Feedback Theory.

Dr. B was a gripping lecturer. He had a free flow of thought coupled with a wry sense of humor. For once, I enjoyed being in the class. It was so unlike my under-grad days when I could have written a book of curses on the professor in the little time I spent in the class room. But, things were different with Dr. B. Even on those rare occasions when the topics were less interesting, I could find a reason to laugh by looking at his bump, conjuring up stories as to how he might have got it – may be his wife gave it to him, or maybe it was the equivalent of Harry Potter’s scar! Who knows?!! I even committed the blasphemy of asking doubts, going to his office to clarify my understanding of Feedback Theory. I also took to what has become an important skill in getting good grades – the art of “buttering”. It prompted me to show great respect for Dr. B’s style of teaching, his research, and his intellect. In the course of this academic courtship, Dr. B gave me three of his most important thoughts.

1. A marriage is like a feedback control system.

2. A disease is a failed feedback control system.

3. And finally, I don’t have any money to give you!

Needless to say, my interest in Dr. B’s research waned drastically after that. I found my previous self. Drooping eyes, bunking classes became the norm once again. At the end of it, I finished the course getting an A, my first A in a core electrical course during my entire life, along with 48 other students in a class of 50.

Then I moved on to other courses, courting other professors and here I am, four semesters down the lane, pondering over the past once again. The three pieces of wisdom that Dr. B gave me seem to make some sense. The marriage according to Dr. B comprised of two systems (man and woman) that were locked together in a feedback loop – one as a plant, and the other as a controller. So, when the man is throwing a tantrum, the wife would act as a controller resulting in a stable output, or when the woman is crying, the man would comfort her preventing a meltdown. In the course of a disturbance (which could be a kid, a secretary or a mother in law!), if neither of them act as a controller, the system would turn unstable and a fight would erupt. Makes sense ain’t it?!!

So, with the first piece of wisdom down, I looked at the second. This was difficult to crack. With my little to zero knowledge of biology, I didn’t know how I could make sense of a disease being a failed feedback system, so I started to look at other areas where it could be verified. The confusion continued until I heard a very able politician by the name Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan say these words – “The difference between us and the Americans is that we haven’t built self correcting government institutions like the Americans did”. I guess what that means is, we haven’t built proper controllers into our administrative agencies. In a larger context, when the government is throwing a tantrum, the people wouldn’t come forward to set things right. Interestingly, this might be the reason we don’t have enough money to give ourselves a better life.