Cybernetics

History of Cybernetics

Taken primarily from Steve Heims, The Cybernetics Group, 1991.
See also: Amer. Soc. Cybernetics

Prehistory: Leibniz, Maxwell, Whitehead, Russell 1920, Arms race model, Lewis Fry Richardson 1929, Homeostasis, Walter B. Cannon (1871-1945) 1930, Arturo Rosenbleuth, Wiener's mentor in Cambridge MA 1942, Cybernetics created, and group formed, at Macy conf. on "Cerebral Inhibition". The "cyberneticians": Mathematics: Norbert Wiener, John von Neumann, Walter Pitts Engineering: Julian Bigelow, Claude Shannon, Neurobiology: Rafael Lorente de No, Arturo Rosenblueth, Warren McCulloch 1943, McCulloch and Pitts crucial paper 1943, Rosenblueth dropped by Harvard, returns to Mexico 1945, January meeting to plan the new field Wiener, Von Neumann, Lorente de No, McCulloch, Pitts, and Bigelow wanted to create a center 1946-1953, Cybernetics diffused by the Macy Conferences [Attendees] Influences: Gestalt: via Lewin, Kluver, Harrower (studied with Koffka), Kohler (attended 4th mtg), Teuber, Licklider (res. assoc. of Kohler) LSD: via Fremont-Smith, Abramson, Kluver 1948, Wiener's book, Cybernetics 1945, Gregory Bateson applies Richardson to psyche 1956, Ross Ashby book, Introduction to Cybernetics 1960, second wave, autopoesis, created by Maturana and Varela 1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1920, Arms race model, Lewis Fry Richardson 1929, Homeostasis, Walter B. Cannon (1871-1945) 1930, Arturo Rosenbleuth, Wiener's mentor in Cambridge MA 1942, Cybernetics created, and group formed, at Macy conf. on "Cerebral Inhibition". The "cyberneticians": Mathematics: Norbert Wiener, John von Neumann, Walter Pitts Engineering: Julian Bigelow, Claude Shannon, Neurobiology: Rafael Lorente de No, Arturo Rosenblueth, Warren McCulloch 1943, McCulloch and Pitts crucial paper 1943, Rosenblueth dropped by Harvard, returns to Mexico 1945, January meeting to plan the new field Wiener, Von Neumann, Lorente de No, McCulloch, Pitts, and Bigelow wanted to create a center 1946-1953, Cybernetics diffused by the Macy Conferences [Attendees] Influences: Gestalt: via Lewin, Kluver, Harrower (studied with Koffka), Kohler (attended 4th mtg), Teuber, Licklider (res. assoc. of Kohler) LSD: via Fremont-Smith, Abramson, Kluver 1948, Wiener's book, Cybernetics 1945, Gregory Bateson applies Richardson to psyche 1956, Ross Ashby book, Introduction to Cybernetics 1960, second wave, autopoesis, created by Maturana and Varela 1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1929, Homeostasis, Walter B. Cannon (1871-1945) 1930, Arturo Rosenbleuth, Wiener's mentor in Cambridge MA 1942, Cybernetics created, and group formed, at Macy conf. on "Cerebral Inhibition". The "cyberneticians": Mathematics: Norbert Wiener, John von Neumann, Walter Pitts Engineering: Julian Bigelow, Claude Shannon, Neurobiology: Rafael Lorente de No, Arturo Rosenblueth, Warren McCulloch 1943, McCulloch and Pitts crucial paper 1943, Rosenblueth dropped by Harvard, returns to Mexico 1945, January meeting to plan the new field Wiener, Von Neumann, Lorente de No, McCulloch, Pitts, and Bigelow wanted to create a center 1946-1953, Cybernetics diffused by the Macy Conferences [Attendees] Influences: Gestalt: via Lewin, Kluver, Harrower (studied with Koffka), Kohler (attended 4th mtg), Teuber, Licklider (res. assoc. of Kohler) LSD: via Fremont-Smith, Abramson, Kluver 1948, Wiener's book, Cybernetics 1945, Gregory Bateson applies Richardson to psyche 1956, Ross Ashby book, Introduction to Cybernetics 1960, second wave, autopoesis, created by Maturana and Varela 1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1930, Arturo Rosenbleuth, Wiener's mentor in Cambridge MA 1942, Cybernetics created, and group formed, at Macy conf. on "Cerebral Inhibition". The "cyberneticians": Mathematics: Norbert Wiener, John von Neumann, Walter Pitts Engineering: Julian Bigelow, Claude Shannon, Neurobiology: Rafael Lorente de No, Arturo Rosenblueth, Warren McCulloch 1943, McCulloch and Pitts crucial paper 1943, Rosenblueth dropped by Harvard, returns to Mexico 1945, January meeting to plan the new field Wiener, Von Neumann, Lorente de No, McCulloch, Pitts, and Bigelow wanted to create a center 1946-1953, Cybernetics diffused by the Macy Conferences [Attendees] Influences: Gestalt: via Lewin, Kluver, Harrower (studied with Koffka), Kohler (attended 4th mtg), Teuber, Licklider (res. assoc. of Kohler) LSD: via Fremont-Smith, Abramson, Kluver 1948, Wiener's book, Cybernetics 1945, Gregory Bateson applies Richardson to psyche 1956, Ross Ashby book, Introduction to Cybernetics 1960, second wave, autopoesis, created by Maturana and Varela 1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1942, Cybernetics created, and group formed, at Macy conf. on "Cerebral Inhibition". The "cyberneticians": Mathematics: Norbert Wiener, John von Neumann, Walter Pitts Engineering: Julian Bigelow, Claude Shannon, Neurobiology: Rafael Lorente de No, Arturo Rosenblueth, Warren McCulloch 1943, McCulloch and Pitts crucial paper 1943, Rosenblueth dropped by Harvard, returns to Mexico 1945, January meeting to plan the new field Wiener, Von Neumann, Lorente de No, McCulloch, Pitts, and Bigelow wanted to create a center 1946-1953, Cybernetics diffused by the Macy Conferences [Attendees] Influences: Gestalt: via Lewin, Kluver, Harrower (studied with Koffka), Kohler (attended 4th mtg), Teuber, Licklider (res. assoc. of Kohler) LSD: via Fremont-Smith, Abramson, Kluver 1948, Wiener's book, Cybernetics 1945, Gregory Bateson applies Richardson to psyche 1956, Ross Ashby book, Introduction to Cybernetics 1960, second wave, autopoesis, created by Maturana and Varela 1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave: The "cyberneticians":; Mathematics: Norbert Wiener, John von Neumann, Walter Pitts
Engineering: Julian Bigelow, Claude Shannon,
Neurobiology: Rafael Lorente de No, Arturo Rosenblueth, Warren McCulloch
1943, McCulloch and Pitts crucial paper 1943, Rosenblueth dropped by Harvard, returns to Mexico 1945, January meeting to plan the new field Wiener, Von Neumann, Lorente de No, McCulloch, Pitts, and Bigelow wanted to create a center 1946-1953, Cybernetics diffused by the Macy Conferences [Attendees] Influences: Gestalt: via Lewin, Kluver, Harrower (studied with Koffka), Kohler (attended 4th mtg), Teuber, Licklider (res. assoc. of Kohler) LSD: via Fremont-Smith, Abramson, Kluver 1948, Wiener's book, Cybernetics 1945, Gregory Bateson applies Richardson to psyche 1956, Ross Ashby book, Introduction to Cybernetics 1960, second wave, autopoesis, created by Maturana and Varela 1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1943, Rosenblueth dropped by Harvard, returns to Mexico 1945, January meeting to plan the new field Wiener, Von Neumann, Lorente de No, McCulloch, Pitts, and Bigelow wanted to create a center 1946-1953, Cybernetics diffused by the Macy Conferences [Attendees] Influences: Gestalt: via Lewin, Kluver, Harrower (studied with Koffka), Kohler (attended 4th mtg), Teuber, Licklider (res. assoc. of Kohler) LSD: via Fremont-Smith, Abramson, Kluver 1948, Wiener's book, Cybernetics 1945, Gregory Bateson applies Richardson to psyche 1956, Ross Ashby book, Introduction to Cybernetics 1960, second wave, autopoesis, created by Maturana and Varela 1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1945, January meeting to plan the new field Wiener, Von Neumann, Lorente de No, McCulloch, Pitts, and Bigelow wanted to create a center 1946-1953, Cybernetics diffused by the Macy Conferences [Attendees] Influences: Gestalt: via Lewin, Kluver, Harrower (studied with Koffka), Kohler (attended 4th mtg), Teuber, Licklider (res. assoc. of Kohler) LSD: via Fremont-Smith, Abramson, Kluver 1948, Wiener's book, Cybernetics 1945, Gregory Bateson applies Richardson to psyche 1956, Ross Ashby book, Introduction to Cybernetics 1960, second wave, autopoesis, created by Maturana and Varela 1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave: Wiener, Von Neumann, Lorente de No, McCulloch, Pitts, and Bigelow wanted to create a center
1946-1953, Cybernetics diffused by the Macy Conferences [Attendees] Influences: Gestalt: via Lewin, Kluver, Harrower (studied with Koffka), Kohler (attended 4th mtg), Teuber, Licklider (res. assoc. of Kohler) LSD: via Fremont-Smith, Abramson, Kluver 1948, Wiener's book, Cybernetics 1945, Gregory Bateson applies Richardson to psyche 1956, Ross Ashby book, Introduction to Cybernetics 1960, second wave, autopoesis, created by Maturana and Varela 1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave: Influences:

Gestalt: via Lewin, Kluver, Harrower (studied with Koffka), Kohler (attended 4th mtg), Teuber, Licklider (res. assoc. of Kohler)
LSD: via Fremont-Smith, Abramson, Kluver
1948, Wiener's book, Cybernetics 1945, Gregory Bateson applies Richardson to psyche 1956, Ross Ashby book, Introduction to Cybernetics 1960, second wave, autopoesis, created by Maturana and Varela 1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1945, Gregory Bateson applies Richardson to psyche 1956, Ross Ashby book, Introduction to Cybernetics 1960, second wave, autopoesis, created by Maturana and Varela 1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1956, Ross Ashby book, Introduction to Cybernetics 1960, second wave, autopoesis, created by Maturana and Varela 1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1960, second wave, autopoesis, created by Maturana and Varela 1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1961, Gordon Pask book, An Approach to Cybernetics 1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1968, First annual symposium of the ASC (Amer. Soc. Cybernetics) 1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1968, Conf org by Bateson (w/ McCulloch, Pask, MC Bateson) 1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1969, Heinz von Foerster book, Analysis and Synthesis of Cognitive Processes and Systems 1985, third wave
1985, third wave

Revised 27 July 2002 by Ralph Abraham, <abraham@vismath.org>