science

Horst Mittelstaedt

Horst Mittelstaedt is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Horst Mittelstaedt rather than just read about it. In short: Horst Mittelstaedt (28 April 1923 – 18 February 2016) was a German biologist and cybernetician. Together with Erich von Holst he demonstrated the "Reafference Principle" in 1950 (Das Reafferenzprinzip) concerning how an organism is able to separate reafferent (self-generated) sensory stimuli from exafferent (externally generated) sensory stimuli.

Key takeaways

Horst Mittelstaedt belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Horst Mittelstaedt to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Horst Mittelstaedt from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Horst Mittelstaedt (28 April 1923 – 18 February 2016) was a German biologist and cybernetician. Together with Erich von Holst he demonstrated the "Reafference Principle" in 1950 (Das Reafferenzprinzip) concerning how an organism is able to separate reafferent (self-generated) sensory stimuli from exafferent (externally generated) sensory stimuli. This concept largely dealt with interactive processes between the central nervous system and its periphery. Until 1999 he worked at the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology at Seewiesen, Bavaria. His scientific focus was cybernetic analysis of behaviour. Mittelstaedt died in Munich on 18 February 2016, at the age of 92.

Selected publications Physiologie des Gleichgewichtssinnes bei fliegenden Libellen, in: Zeitschrift für vergleichende Physiologie. Band 32, Stürtz, Würzburg 1950, S. 422-463, , OCLC 720205713 (Dissertation Universität Heidelberg, Naturwissenschaftlich-mathematische Fakultät, 27. Juli 1949, 84 pages, . with E. v. Holst: Das Reafferenzprinzip. In: Naturwissenschaften. Band 37, Nr. 20, 1950, S. 464–476, doi:10.1007/BF00622503 Einführung in die Kybernetik des Verhaltens am Beispiel der Orientierung im Raum. In: W. Hoppe, W. Lohmann, H. Markl, H. Ziegler (eds.): Biophysik. 2nd edition. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, New York 1982, ISBN 3-540-11335-5. The Information Processing Structure of the Subjective Vertical. A Cybernetic Bridge between its Psychophysics and its Neurobiology. In: H. Marko, G. Hauske, A. Struppler (eds.): Processing Structures for Perception and Action: Final Report of the Sonderforschungsbereich „Kybernetik“ 1969–1983. VCH, Weinheim, New York, Cambridge, Basel 1988, ISBN 3-527-27705-6, pp. 217–263.

References

External links Literature by and about Horst Mittelstaedt in the German National Library catalogue Open Library author's profile Neurotree entry

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Horst Mittelstaedt

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Horst Mittelstaedt claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Horst Mittelstaedt before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Horst Mittelstaedt ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Horst Mittelstaedt

In research: Horst Mittelstaedt appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Horst Mittelstaedt in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Horst Mittelstaedt is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1923 births, 2016 deaths, Cyberneticists, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Horst Mittelstaedt outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Horst Mittelstaedt in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Horst Mittelstaedt means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Horst Mittelstaedt out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Horst Mittelstaedt in simple terms?

Why does Horst Mittelstaedt matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Horst Mittelstaedt?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Horst Mittelstaedt.