Britannica defines cybernetics as « control theory as it is applied to complex systems. »
« The term cybernetics comes from the ancient Greek word kybernetikos (“good at steering”), referring to the art of the helmsman. »
« The American mathematician Norbert Wiener published his book Cybernetics in 1948… Wiener defined cybernetics as “the science of control and communications in the animal and machine.” This definition relates cybernetics closely with the theory of automatic control and also with physiology, particularly the physiology of the nervous system. »
« 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 system’s behavior accordingly. »
« For instance, a “controller” might be the human brain, which might receive signals from a “monitor” (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 behavior (the reach of the hand) closer to the desired behavior (the picking up of the object). »
« 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. »
« 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. »
Related reading on complex systems:
- Thinking in Systems by Donella H. Meadows
- Systems Thinking for Business and Management by Umit S. Bititci and Agnessa Spanellis
- It’s Not Complicated: The Art and Science of Complexity in Business by Rick Nason
Articles of Interest 