Requisite Variety

[05/19, 19:53] The Law of Requisite Variety (Ashby's Law) has it that it requires variety to control variety. Applied to learning complex skills, that means that the variety in the experimentation applied to meet technical challenges or learn skills must be greater than the variety contained in the challenges or skills. There seems to be a minimum threshold below which success is unlikely. Above that threshold, however, success is virtually inevitable, provided that one is willing to do what it takes, which is variety, novelty, repetition, reflection, etc -- as much as is required for outcome achievement. Mere repetition is not sufficient. It must include a minimum variety. One of the critical characteristics of masters is that they are willing to do what it takes. They will experiment and experiment and practice and practice until it pays off. No excuses and no silly expectations of instantaneous results.