Kybernetika 44 no. 3, 307-313, 2008

Sixty years of cybernetics: from youthful to useful

George J. Klir

Abstract:

This year coincides with the 60-year anniversary of the publication of Norbert Wiener's seminal book: , in which he introduced, under the name "cybernetic", a host of radically new ideas and views regarding science, engineering, and other areas of human affairs that emerged shortly after World War II. It is thus appropriate for a journal whose title is , the Czech name for cybernetics, to use this anniversary for reflecting on the evolution of cybernetics during the last 60 years. In this essay, which I was invited to write for on this occasion, I intend to express my personal opinion about what I consider the most important ideas of cybernetics from among those suggested and discussed by Wiener in his book. In addition, I intend to trace the evolution of these principal ideas, especially in the United States, since the publication of Wiener's book.