Control is when we change our environment to match a desired outcome. Cause & effect is what we do to close the knowledge gap.
We Change Our Environment
Control is how we change or maintain the environment around us to suite our desires. It begins in utero and continues throughout our entire life.
The Control Loop
Functions
Functions are all about change.
Decisions
Decisions are actioned to change your environment more or less - or no change!
Confidence
When your knowledge is stable, and expectations match reality.
Ownership
When we have possession of something and we build it into our life. Our personal history with that object.
Cause & Effect
Actions / Causes
When children approach a new object, one of the first things they do is test it! This is the first step to learning how an object works. This begins with producing a cause (action) which generates an outcome.
Outcomes
When they interact with the object, there will be an effect. This serves as evidence /outcomes.
The key of cause & effect is to generate evidence. They use evidence to form ideas about how it works.
Ideas
The key to forming logic (or truth) is to find a pattern, that is when an idea holds true with every interaction.
To get to that point, they make hypothesis about what is unknown.
As they do more testing they update the hypothesis as they received more evidence. e.g "i think it works because of...."
This requires critical thinking. Ultimately, this process leads to a logical understanding of what was once a mystery, to discover what was covered or hidden.
Then they have developed a skill and gained control.
Special Note: We expand on cause & effect in Part 2 of this course, in a lesson called Unlock Nature.
Real application of cause & effect
In the cause & effect example that you saw in the video, the hidden function was +1 and x10. We discovered this through cause & effect! This was only used to demonstrate the idea.
To make this more concrete, let's consider a real example. The Drum. A drum is made up of a wooden band called a shell, and a skin made of a type of plastic.
You hit the drum with a stick (cause) and you make a sound (effect). In our interactive we had the black box (the function). In our drum example, this is the drum mechanism itself.
So, you hit the drum, the skin vibrates at a certain speed, it produces a certain tone (a musical pitch). Whatever you excite the drum with (e.g stick, hand, wind), the pitch of the sound is the same.
Now, what if we tweak the function a little! We make the skin less tight (loosened). When hit, it vibrates a little slower producing a lower (deeper) musical pitch.
The outcome (effect) has change because you modified the tension of the drum skin.
That is,
You are controlling it's function, and this modifies the effect.
Try the Interactive!
The Art and Science of Play
When the fun loop and the control loop work in harmony they produce something we call play
Play is the dynamic interaction between a child and their environment. It happens when there is an unexpected change, that inspires the search for control. It is a combination of learning how things work, imagination, as well as experiencing the emotional kick that comes from exciting changes and new discoveries.
Selective Attention
This model is used to consider a child's hypersensitivities. It teaches us that when we pay attention to something, our mind tunes our sensory perception.
For example, the loud sound may still be happening in the room, however because the child is giving attention to flashing lights and colour, they no longer hear the loud sound. Selective attention shapes our sensory perception. This gives you the knowledge to assist in making the gap an inspiration and not a frustration.
The Knowledge Gap
The gap is another way of saying, an unexpected event, change, or difference. It is when our expectations are different from real outcomes. At this point we link back to creative fire, the unexpected change give the us emotional kick to learn. When that gap is unexpected it can motivate a child to try to control something. This gap or difference can bring about inspiration and kickstarts the search for control
