Feedback

Feedback is a phenomenon which occurs when outputs of a system are routed back as inputs.

Description

This process of outputs becoming inputs forms a signal chain of cause-and-effect.

The system can then be said to feed back into itself, forming a closed circuit or loop.

Cause and effect

The notion of cause-and-effect has to be handled carefully when applied to feedback systems:

"Simple causal reasoning about a feedback system is difficult because the first system influences the second and second system influences the first, leading to a circular argument. This makes reasoning based upon cause and effect tricky, and it is necessary to analyze the system as a whole."

See also

• Control theory
• Negative feedback
• Positive feedback
• Recursion

External links

• Feedback @ Wikipedia