40+FAB Blog
The feedback loop
I learnt the importance of feedback in an electronic system in one of my final year modules at university. The ability of that system to respond to random impulses from its environment is what made it a smart system. Today we are seeing a rise in robotics and artificial intelligence and the emergence of autonomous systems. All these are based on that principle of a system being able to respond to feedback.
The interesting thing about these electronic systems being built today is that they are all designed to mimic a living being. Living things react to stimulus, that is one of our big characteristics. We are constantly sensing what is around us as we pick up impulses and react. If it’s too cold, we seek something warm, it we feel pain we move away from it.
The ability for us to react to feedback from our environment has been crucial to our biological preservation.
So, why don’t we apply these same principles to every area like career, business, relationships, ideas, raising children and all else?
The feedback loop should never be closed. Yes I know sometimes we shut down when people want to cripple us through their feedback, but rather than shut down, what we need are robust responses to clear out that loop of toxic infiltration just like you would avoid getting close to an open flame.
Feedback is important for everything we do so let’s view it as the stimulus that helps us to react appropriately so that we can navigate our various courses of life successfully.
