Cybernetics
Cybernetics is a science concerned with the study of control and communication in animals and machines. It was first developed in the 1940s by the mathematician Norbert Wiener as a means of understanding and controlling complex systems. Wiener defined cybernetics as “the science of control and communication in the animal and the machine”.
Since its inception, cybernetics has been an interdisciplinary field, incorporating elements of mathematics, engineering, biology and psychology. As such, it has had a major influence on many other areas of science and technology. For instance, it has had a major influence on the development of computers, communication systems and robotics.
One of the key concepts of cybernetics is control theory. Control theory is concerned with how control systems work and how they can be used to maintain order in a system. This includes the study of factors such as feedback loops, adaptation and learning. Wiener saw control theory as a way of understanding how complex systems maintain equilibrium and how changes can be made to the system in order to keep it functioning correctly.
Wieners work focused on how systems could be controlled by feedback and how information can be used to make decisions. One of the main applications of his work is in the area of robotics, where machines can use feedback from sensors in order to regulate their behavior. This concept is known as “feedback control”.
Another important concept of cybernetics is communication theory, which examines how messages can be exchanged between systems in order to achieve a desired outcome. This has been used in the development of communication systems such as the internet.
Wieners work in cybernetics has had a major influence on the development of computers, communication systems and robotics. His ideas have been used to create autonomic systems, which can learn and adapt to their environment in order to achieve a desired outcome.
Since its inception, cybernetics has been an interdisciplinary field, incorporating elements of mathematics, engineering, biology and psychology. As such, it has had a major influence on many other areas of science and technology. Wieners work has been widely credited for its contribution to science and technology, and for inspiring many of the advances made in these areas over the past few decades.
