Discussion on Cybernetic Traditions

Cybernetic Traditions
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Cybernetic Traditions
Norbert Wiener was a remarkable philosopher and mathematician whose work set the foundation for the field of Cybernetics. Norbert was born in Columbia, Missouri, in 1894 to parents Leo and Bertha Wiener (Tufts School of Arts and Sciences, n.d.). His Russian father, Leo, began teaching Slavic languages at Harvard University while Norbert was being homeschooled. The homeschooling lasted until he enrolled in high school. After high school, he joined Tufts College at 11 and graduated with a major in mathematics in 1909 at 14. A year later, Norbert joined Harvard University, where he undertook a zoology graduate program but later changed to philosophy, which allowed him to be closer to mathematics (Tufts School of Arts and Sciences, n.d.). He later joined MIT in 1919 as a faculty member and spent the rest of his career there. His major published papers include Generalized Harmonic Analysis, Differential Space, and Tauberian Theorems.
Norbert’s 1948 book, Cybernetics, significantly elevated his name as it raised his popularity in the scientific community. It is this book that is the basis of the chapter Cybernetics in History (Wiener, 2007). In this chapter, Norbert expands on cybernetics, primarily dwellin...