CYBERNETICS kybernetes 40s-50s whether in the machine or inliving tissue computing machines stored-program computer nervous system communication control theory statistical information theory statistical mechanics neurophysiology biology behaviorism Macy conference 1946-1953 what makes behavior? thinking about machines feedback mechanisms biology circular causal system Norbert Wiener Cybernetics; or, Control and Communication in the Animal and Machine definition cybernetics Dr. Rosenblueth John Von Neumann complexity barrier WWII new weapons system radar rapid calculating machines machines automata self-regulating stability feedback loops environment shift in understanding the living organism 19th century a heat engine, burning glucose or glycogen or starch, fats, and proteins into carbon dioxide, water and urea (41) the [organism’s] body is very far from a conservative system, and that its component parts work in an environment where the available power is much less limited than we have taken it to be. the newer study of automata, whether in the metal or in the flesh, is a branch of communication engineering, and its cardinal notions are those of message, amount of disturbance or ‘noise’— a term taken over from the telephone engineer quantity of information, coding technique, and so on nervous system organs little amount of energy regulating passage of information from body's sense organs to effectors perform actions vacuum tube electronic circuit theory of sensitive automata the newer study of automata, whether in the metal or in the flesh, is a branch of communication engineering, and its cardinal notions are those of message, amount of disturbance or ‘noise’— a term taken over from the telephone engineer quantity of information, coding technique, and so on environment sensory stimulation equivalent of nervous system transfer information effectors perform action We are scarcely ever interested in the performance of a communicationengineering machine for a single input. To function adequately, it must give a satisfactory performance for a whole class of inputs, and this means a statistically satisfactory performance for the class of input which it is statistically expected to receive. Thus its theory belongs to the Gibbsian statistical mechanics rather than to the classical Newtonian mechanics. (44) the modern automaton exists in the same sort of Bergsonian time as the living organism. time of becoming creative evolution vitalist-mechanist to the limbo of badly posed question Claude Shannon quantitative theory of information overcome engineering problems in electronic communications reduce noise in telephone lines communication of information in any medium statistical theory formal theory Ludwig Boltzmann formula computing entropy amount of randomness thermodynamic system uncertainty of molecular states statistical distribution missing information