control
1. a device or mechanism for operating a car, aircraft, etc.
2. a. a device that regulates the operation of a machine. A dynamic control is one that incorporates a governor so that it responds to the output of the machine it regulates
b. (as modifier): control panel
3. Spiritualism an agency believed to assist the medium in a séance
4. a letter, or letter and number, printed on a sheet of postage stamps, indicating authenticity, date, and series of issue
5. one of a number of checkpoints on a car rally, orienteering course, etc., where competitors check in and their time, performance, etc., is recorded
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
control
see SOCIAL CONTROL.Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000
Control
(religion, spiritualism, and occult)“Control” is the term often used to designate the spirit operator of a séance. A more common name is “guide.” This entity regulates what is happening in terms of which spirits are allowed to come through to the medium, what form of communication is being used (clairvoyance, direct voice, etc.), whether or not such physical phenomena as apports might be apparent, and so on. Some people have more than one guide and the control is the chief one, or the one who is in control of the proceedings at any particular time.
Nandor Fodor said, “The body of the medium is an instrument which requires considerable practice in efficient handling. The control is a communications expert who watches over the fluency of the proceedings, often steps in if he vacated his place to explain confusion and repeats unintelligible expressions. The easygoing, conversational aspect of the séances is largely due to his presence … [the controls] are patient and ready to produce the phenomena to the sitters’ satisfaction. But they do not take orders, expect courteous treatment, appreciation for what they do and have their own caprices.” Controls are not all-knowing. Many times a control will admit to ignorance of a subject, or the answer to a question, and will say that he will ask another who knows.
Not all controls are male, although the majority seems to be. It is not known why this is. Controls often have helpers to assist with such things as the presentation of physical phenomena. These helpers can also aid in the explanation of incoherent messages.
William Stainton Moses recorded some blunders by controls. Once, perfume was supposed to be produced so that the sitters could smell it. Instead, such a terrible odor filled the room that the sitters had to leave. Another time heavy volumes of phosphoric smoke were produced, making the medium believe he was enveloped in fire. Usually when some untoward event such as these takes place, the control immediately orders the end of the session and the medium comes out of trance.
Sources:
Fodor, Nandor: Encyclopedia of Psychic Science. London: Arthurs Press, 1933
The Spirit Book © 2006 Visible Ink Press®. All rights reserved.
control
[kən′trōl] (computer science)
The section of a digital computer that carries out instructions in proper sequence, interprets each coded instruction, and applies the proper signals to the arithmetic unit and other parts in accordance with this interpretation.
A mathematical check used with some computer operations.
(control systems)
A means or device to direct and regulate a process or sequence of events.
(electronics)
An input element of a cryotron.
(statistics)
A test made to determine the extent of error in experimental observations or measurements.
A procedure carried out to give a standard of comparison in an experiment.
Observations made on subjects which have not undergone treatment, to use in comparison with observations made on subjects which have undergone treatment.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
control
Any device for regulating a system or component during its normal (manual or automatic) operation; it is responsive, during automatic operation, to the property (such as pressure or temperature) whose magnitude is to be regulated.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
control
(character)(Or "ctrl", "^") One (or a pair) of modifier keys found on all modern keyboards. If the control key is
held down while pressing and releasing certain other keys then
a "
control character" is generated, e.g. holding control and
hitting "A" generates control-A (
ASCII code 1). The ASCII
code for the control character is generally 64 less than that
for the unmodified character.
The control key does not generate any character on its own but
most modern keyboards and operating systems allow a program
to tell whether each of the individual keys on the keyboard
(including modifier keys) is pressed at any time.
Control characters mostly have some kind of "non-printing"
effect on the output such as ringing the bell (Control-G) or
advancing to the next line (Control-J). Most have alternative
names suggesting these functions (Bell, Line Feed, etc.).
See
ASCII character table.
This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)
control
A program module or routine that enhances the functionality of a program. A control can be as small as a single button on a user interface or as large as a complicated forecasting algorithm. The term is often used with regard to user interface functions such as buttons, menus and dialog boxes. See ActiveX control, AWT, anchor and user interface control.Copyright © 1981-2019 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.