Norbert Wiener
Norbert Wiener
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Full Name and Common Aliases
Norbert Wiener was born as Norbert Wiener on July 5, 1894, in Columbia, Missouri. He is commonly referred to as the father of Cybernetics.
Birth and Death Dates
Birth: July 5, 1894
Death: March 18, 1964
Nationality and Profession(s)
Norbert Wiener was an American mathematician who made significant contributions in various fields such as mathematics, philosophy, and engineering. He is best known for his work on cybernetics, the study of control and communication in machines and living beings.
Early Life and Background
Wiener grew up in a family that valued education. His father, Leo Wiener, was a professor at Harvard University, and his mother, Ida Sadie Wiener, was a pianist. Norbert showed a keen interest in mathematics from an early age. He attended the Boston Latin School before enrolling at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at the age of 14.
At MIT, Wiener studied mathematics and philosophy under the tutelage of some of the most prominent scholars of his time. His academic prowess earned him several awards, including a scholarship to study in Europe. During World War I, Wiener served as an ambulance driver on the Italian front.
Major Accomplishments
Wiener's work on cybernetics revolutionized our understanding of communication and control systems. He was one of the first scientists to recognize that living beings and machines share common principles for controlling behavior. His book "Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine" (1948) is considered a seminal work in this field.
Some of his notable contributions include:
Cybernetic Theory: Wiener's work on cybernetics introduced the concept of feedback, which is essential for self-regulation and adaptation.
Brownian Motion: Wiener made significant contributions to the study of Brownian motion, a fundamental principle in physics that describes the random movement of particles suspended in a fluid.
Notable Works or Actions
Wiener's work was not limited to theoretical foundations. He also applied his knowledge to practical problems. Some notable examples include:
Anti-Aircraft Systems: Wiener worked on developing anti-aircraft systems, which led to the development of modern radar technology.
Cybernetic Machines: He designed machines that could learn and adapt, paving the way for artificial intelligence.
Impact and Legacy
Wiener's work has had a profound impact on various fields, including mathematics, engineering, computer science, and philosophy. His concept of feedback has been applied in numerous areas, from mechanical systems to living organisms.
Norbert Wiener's legacy extends beyond his scientific contributions. He was a vocal advocate for social justice and peace. During World War II, he spoke out against the use of mathematical models in warfare, highlighting the dangers of dehumanizing individuals through statistical analysis.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
Wiener's quotes often focus on the intersection of technology and humanity. He believed that science should serve human values, not the other way around. His words continue to inspire reflection on the role of technology in our lives:
> "I am not a being who is content to sit in a chair and think; I must be active."
— Norbert Wiener
Norbert Wiener's life and work embody the spirit of curiosity and innovation that drives scientific progress. As we navigate the complexities of an increasingly technological world, his ideas on feedback, control, and communication remain essential for understanding our place within it.
Quotes by Norbert Wiener
Norbert Wiener's insights on:
It is the part of the scientist – of the intelligent and honest man of letters and of the intelligent and honest clergyman as well – to entertain heretical and forbidden opinions experimentally, even if he is finally to reject them.
Organism is opposed to chaos, to disintegration, to death, as message is to noise. To describe an organism, we do not try to specify each molecule in it, and catalogue it bit by bit, but rather to answer certain questions about it which reveal its pattern: a pattern which is more significant and less probable as the organism becomes, so to speak, more fully an organism.
This control of a machine on the basis of its actual performance rather than its expected performance is known as feedback, and involves sensory members which are actuated by motor members and perform the function of tell-tales or monitors – that is, of elements which indicate a performance. It is the function of these mechanisms to control the mechanical tendency toward disorganization; in other words, to produce a temporary and local reversal of the normal direction of entropy.
For any machine subject to a varied external environment to act effectively it is necessary that information concerning the results of its own action be furnished to it as part of the information on which it must continue to act.
There is much which we must leave, whether we like it or not, to the un-“scientific’ narrative method of the professional historian.
As to the inventions of printing and of paper, we generally consider these in the wrong oredr, attributing too much importnace to printing and too little to paper.
I have said that the modern man, and especially the modern American, however much ‘know-how’ he may have, has very little ‘know-what’
A significant idea of organization cannot be obtained in a world in which everything is necessary and nothing is contingent.
The advantage is that mathematics is a field in which one’s blunders tend to show very clearly and can be corrected or erased with a stroke of the pencil.