- Key People:
- Norbert Wiener
- Related Topics:
- information theory
- control theory
- bionics
cybernetics
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What is cybernetics?
Cybernetics is control theory applied to complex systems. It uses models where a monitor compares a system's current state to a desired standard, and a controller adjusts the system's behavior accordingly.
The word cybernetics comes from the Greek kybernetikos, meaning "good at steering." Norbert Wiener defined cybernetics in 1948 as the science of control and communications in animals and machines. It closely relates to automatic control theory and physiology, especially the nervous system's physiology. Cybernetics is viewed as the science of controlling complex technical, biological, or social systems.
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Who started the study of cybernetics?
Norbert Wiener, an American mathematician, is credited with establishing the science of cybernetics. Wiener's book, Cybernetics; or, Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine, published in 1948, popularized the field, leading to its recognition as an independent science. Wiener defined cybernetics as "the science of control and communications in the animal and machine," linking it to automatic control theory and the physiology of the nervous system. Cybernetics is interdisciplinary, exploring the common relationships between humans and machines, and it is applied in control theory, automation theory, and computer programs.
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How does cybernetics explore the idea of feedback?
Cybernetics uses feedback to adjust a system's behavior by comparing its state to a standard. The controller uses feedback to minimize the difference between the observed and desired behavior.
Feedback is information sent from a monitor to a controller, which then issues instructions to bring the observed behavior closer to the desired behavior. Cybernetics explores control rules for human actions to construct artificial limbs that interface with the brain. The use of computers has broadened cybernetics to include all forms of information processing.
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What is an example of cybernetics in technology or machines?
Cybernetics is a science that studies communication and control systems in animals and machines. It focuses on how systems monitor themselves and adjust their behavior to achieve a desired outcome.
A self-regulating thermostat is an example of cybernetics in technology. A thermostat is considered self-regulating because it automatically maintains a consistent temperature. It uses a monitor to compare the current temperature with the set standard and a controller to adjust the heating or cooling system accordingly.
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How does cybernetics help us understand living organisms?
Cybernetics, the science of control and communication in animals and machines, helps us understand living organisms by providing models where a monitor compares a system's current state to a desired standard, and a controller adjusts the system's behavior accordingly. This relates to the physiology of the nervous system; for example, the brain (controller) receives signals from the eyes (monitor) to guide the hand.
This concept is also seen in homeostasis, where biological systems maintain stability by self-regulating processes. Feedback, where the end products of a reaction control the reaction, is also a key part of cybernetics. Biocybernetics emphasizes information flow, processing, and regulatory pathways within biological systems, such as a living organism or the central nervous system.
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How is cybernetics used today in fields like robotics or artificial intelligence?
Cybernetics, defined as the science of communication and control theory, is applied to complex systems, especially in robotics and artificial intelligence (AI). It uses models where a monitor compares a system's performance against a standard, and a controller adjusts the system's behavior accordingly. In robotics, cybernetics aids in creating robots that can respond to feedback and adapt to their environment. In AI, it enhances information processing in control systems, enabling AI to mimic human problem-solving and decision-making capabilities.
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cybernetics, control theory as it is applied to complex systems. Cybernetics is associated with models in which a monitor compares what is happening to a system at various sampling times with some standard of what should be happening, and a controller adjusts the systemâs behaviour accordingly.
The term cybernetics comes from the ancient Greek word kybernetikos (âgood at steeringâ), referring to the art of the helmsman. In the first half of the 19th century, the French physicist AndrĂ©-Marie AmpĂšre, in his classification of the sciences, suggested that the still nonexistent science of the control of governments be called cybernetics. The term was soon forgotten, however, and it was not used again until the American mathematician Norbert Wiener published his book Cybernetics in 1948. In that book Wiener made reference to an 1868 article by the British physicist James Clerk Maxwell on governors and pointed out that the term governor is derived, via Latin, from the same Greek word that gives rise to cybernetics. The date of Wienerâs publication is generally accepted as marking the birth of cybernetics as an independent science.
Wiener defined cybernetics as âthe science of control and communications in the animal and machine.â This definition relates cybernetics closely with the theory of automatic control and also with physiology, particularly the physiology of the nervous system. For instance, a âcontrollerâ might be the human brain, which might receive signals from a âmonitorâ (the eyes) regarding the distance between a reaching hand and an object to be picked up. The information sent by the monitor to the controller is called feedback, and on the basis of this feedback the controller might issue instructions to bring the observed behaviour (the reach of the hand) closer to the desired behaviour (the picking up of the object). Indeed, some of the earliest work done in cybernetics was the study of control rules by which human action takes place, with the goal of constructing artificial limbs that could be tied in with the brain.
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In subsequent years the computer and the areas of mathematics related to it (e.g., mathematical logic) had a great influence on the development of cyberneticsâfor the simple reason that computers can be used not only for automatic calculation but also for all conversions of information, including the various types of information processing used in control systems. This enhanced ability of computers has made possible two different views of cybernetics. The narrower view, common in Western countries, defines cybernetics as the science of the control of complex systems of various typesâtechnical, biological, or social. In many Western countries particular emphasis is given to aspects of cybernetics used in the generation of control systems in technology and in living organisms. A broader view of cybernetics arose in Russia and the other Soviet republics and prevailed there for many years. In this broader definition, cybernetics includes not only the science of control but all forms of information processing as well. In this way computer science, considered a separate discipline in the West, is included as one of the component parts of cybernetics.