Definition
A servomechanism is an automatic control system that uses feedback to steer itself toward a goal. The classic engineering example is a homing torpedo: the device senses where it is, compares that to where it should be, generates an error signal, and adjusts course continuously until impact. Servomechanisms are found in autopilots, thermostats, robotic arms, and missile guidance — anywhere a system must close the gap between target and reality without human supervision at every step.
Maxwell Maltz adopted the term from Norbert Wiener's cybernetics and proposed that the human nervous system, when given a clear objective, behaves as a servomechanism. The metaphor was meant to remove mystery from goal achievement: the machinery exists, it works on principles, and the person's job is to feed it the right inputs.
Why it works
How it works
A servomechanism has four parts: a goal, a sensor that detects current state, a comparator that computes error, and an actuator that adjusts behavior to reduce the error. Maltz mapped these onto the brain — imagination supplies the goal, perception supplies the sensor reading, conscience or felt discrepancy is the comparator, and behavior is the actuator.
The practical upshot is that conscious will should not micromanage the loop. The work is to define the target clearly and let the system iterate. Trying to control every adjustment is like a sailor fighting the autopilot — it usually produces less accurate results than trusting the mechanism.