William T. Powers Papers

The William T. Powers collection fills 61 boxes. It includes Powers' correspondence with his fellow scientists, reviews of other scientist's material, other scientist's reviews of Powers' materials, and Powers' own personal papers whether or not related to Perceptual Control Theory (PCT). The collection also contains three machines created by Powers to help people better understand his theories.

The papers span the period 1927-2012. The great majority of the Powers-centered work spans the second half of the twentieth century, as he did most of his Perceptual Control Theory work during this period. The papers that span the period 1927-1950 are essays and documents other scientists wrote, on which Powers initially based his own research. The bulk of the papers within the collection contain material significant for understanding the basis of Perceptual Control Theory and other theories based on it, such as the Method of Levels (a technique of psychotherapy), and Responsible Thinking Process (RTP), a method for applying PCT to discipline in public schools. The remainder of the collection includes papers related to the Control Systems Group (CSG), other scientist's reviews of PCT, diagrams and cartoons related to PCT, papers on cybernetics, publications on RTP, and articles related to William T. Powers.

The bulk of the collection is divided into two broad sections: documents written by William T. Powers; and writings by other scientists.

The first major section, boxes 1-17, contains documents written by William T. Powers. These documents include biographical information, unpublished papers, rough drafts of both essays and books, correspondence written by Powers (some of it on CSGnet), old notebooks, and certificates. This section also contains biographical information about Powers, as well as his résumé (Box 15, Folder 16); and various notebooks from Powers' time as an undergraduate at Northwestern. Notable items in this section are some letters between Powers and B. F. Skinner, and papers written by Powers at the time of Skinner's death.

The second major section, boxes 18-53, includes copies of other scientists' work, such as essays and research papers, correspondence written by other scientists to Powers, correspondence from Powers to other scientists, and other miscellaneous materials related to Powers' career. Because the majority of the correspondence was already alphabetized when the Powers collection was received, other materials were incorporated into the existing sequence. This section of the papers also contains many documents relating to CSG, the Control Systems Group. (Powers' titles were retained.)

Box 54 contains Powers' science fiction writings. Four additional boxes contain tapes, cassettes, videos, and oversized notes.

The collection also contains three machines created by Powers. One is called "The Problem Solving Machine", the others were for the general purpose of demonstrating early basic concepts of Perceptual Control Theory. The machines are in a deteriorated state, which compromises their function, but they are suitable for display.