This is a very important text for anyone interested in the history and philosophy of computation. Weiner was extremely influential in his ideas post war and thus shaped much of the cultural context of early computer science up to the late ‘60s. The ideas and theoretical work are still fundamental and echo behind many technological systems today. A brilliant mind with perhaps too much influence on contemporary ideas giving rise to several unintended consequences. ( )

Indeholder "Introduction", "Chapter I. Newtonian and Bergsonian Time", "Chapter II. Groups and Statistical Mechanics", "Chapter III. Time, Series, Information, and Communication", "Chapter IV. Feed-Back and Oscillation", "Chapter V. Computing Machines and the Nervous System", "Chapter VI. Gestalt and Universals", "Chapter VII. Cybernetics and Psychopathology", "Chapter VIII. Information, Language, and Society".

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Bogen er et af resultaterne af et mangeårigt samarbejde mellem forskellige eksperter indenfor forskellige områder. Norbert Wiener mener at de mest frugtbare forskningsområder ligger i de uudforskede grænseegne mellem etablerede forskningsområder. Og her er fx statistik og tidsserier nyttige værktøjer. Norbert Wiener (1894-1964) var supergodt begavet og blev desuden pacet frem af sin far (professor på Harvard), der skældte voldsomt ud, hvis Norbert lavede fejl. Han bestod sin universitetsuddannelse i matematik fra Tufts College (senere omdøbt til Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts) i 1909, da han var 14 og fik en Ph.D. fra Harvard i 1913. Videre til Cambridge og Göttingen (for at studere ved Bertrand Russell og David Hilbert). Han forsøgte at melde sig til militærtjeneste, da Første Verdenskrig brød ud, men hans syn var for dårligt. I Anden Verdenskrig arbejdede han blandt andet på kontrolmekanismer til at styre antiluftskyts, så han fik masser af praktisk erfaring i at forudsige fx et flys fremtidige position udfra tidligere observationer. ( )

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I almost don't know what to say about this book. It was overwhelming to read in 1981, when I first found it. From the Saturday Review (from the back cover):

"Acclaimed one of the "seminal books... comparable in ultimate importance to... Galileo or Malthus or Rousseau or Mill", Cybernetics was judged by twenty-seven historians, economists, educators, and philosophers to be one of those books published during the "past four decades," which may have a substantial impact on public thought and action in the years ahead." -- Saturday Review" ( )

A classic text from the American genius with an unfortunate name. Where successful, it was subsumed. ( )