The Cybernetic Brain
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Existing Cybernetics Foundations - B
SYSTEMS SCIENCE AND CYBERNETICS – Vol. III - Existing Cybernetics Foundations - B. M. Vladimirski EXISTING CYBERNETICS FOUNDATIONS B. M. Vladimirski Rostov State University, Russia Keywords: Cybernetics, system, control, black box, entropy, information theory, mathematical modeling, feedback, homeostasis, hierarchy. Contents 1. Introduction 2. Organization 2.1 Systems and Complexity 2.2 Organizability 2.3 Black Box 3. Modeling 4. Information 4.1 Notion of Information 4.2 Generalized Communication System 4.3 Information Theory 4.4 Principle of Necessary Variety 5. Control 5.1 Essence of Control 5.2 Structure and Functions of a Control System 5.3 Feedback and Homeostasis 6. Conclusions Glossary Bibliography Biographical Sketch Summary Cybernetics is a science that studies systems of any nature that are capable of perceiving, storing, and processing information, as well as of using it for control and regulation. UNESCO – EOLSS The second title of the Norbert Wiener’s book “Cybernetics” reads “Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine”. However, it is not recognition of the external similaritySAMPLE between the functions of animalsCHAPTERS and machines that Norbert Wiener is credited with. That had been done well before and can be traced back to La Mettrie and Descartes. Nor is it his contribution that he introduced the notion of feedback; that has been known since the times of the creation of the first irrigation systems in ancient Babylon. His distinctive contribution lies in demonstrating that both animals and machines can be combined into a new, wider class of objects which is characterized by the presence of control systems; furthermore, living organisms, including humans and machines, can be talked about in the same language that is suitable for a description of any teleological (goal-directed) systems. -
Building the Observer Into the System: Toward a Realistic
Building the Observer into the System: Toward a Realistic Description of Human Interaction with the World Chris Fields 243 West Spain Street Sonoma, CA 95476 USA fi[email protected] November 11, 2016 Abstract Human beings do not observe the world from the outside, but rather are fully embedded in it. The sciences, however, often give the observer both a “god’s eye” perspective and substantial a priori knowledge. Motivated by W. Ross Ashby’s state- ment, “the theory of the Black Box is merely the theory of real objects or systems, when close attention is given to the question, relating object and observer, about what information comes from the object, and how it is obtained” (Introduction to Cyber- netics, 1956, p. 110), I develop here an alternate picture of the world as a black box to which the observer is coupled. Within this framework I prove purely-classical analogs of the “no-go” theorems of quantum theory. Focussing on the question of identifying macroscopic objects, such as laboratory apparatus or even other observers, I show arXiv:1411.3405v6 [quant-ph] 10 Nov 2016 that the standard quantum formalism of superposition is required to adequately rep- resent the classical information that an observer can obtain. I relate these results to supporting considerations from evolutionary biology, cognitive and developmental psychology, and artificial intelligence. Subject Classification: 03.65.Yz; 04.60.Bc Keywords:black box; classicality; environment as witness; Landauer’s principle; pragmatic information; quantum Darwinism; separability; superposition; time 1 The theory of the Black Box is merely the theory of real objects or systems, when close attention is given to the question, relating object and observer, about what information comes from the object, and how it is obtained. -
Black Box, Black Bloc” a Lecture Given at the New School in New York City on April 12, 2010 Alexander R
“Black Box, Black Bloc” A lecture given at the New School in New York City on April 12, 2010 Alexander R. Galloway Facial recognition and autoblur software, Google Street View, 20 Rue de la Vicarie, Saint Brieuc, France. Of all the revivals in recent years--a period of history in which the revival itself has been honed to such a degree that it persists as mere “blank parody”--the revival of Hegel is the most startling, although certainly not for those involved. Hegelianisms of all shapes and sizes prevail today, from Catherine Malabou's dutiful reconstruction of the “plastic” dialectical transformations, to the hysterical antimaterialism of Slavoj Žižek and his convocation of the inescapable bind between the “determinate negation” and the “wholly Other,” from which explodes the terror of proletarian power. Is not Woody Allen's character Alvy Singer in Annie Hall the perfect summation of Žižek's political project: Okay I'm a bigot, but for the left! Or consider the unrepentant Hegelian Alain Badiou who stakes everything on being as a pure formalism that only ever realizes itself through the event, an absolute departure from the state of the situation. Only the Hegelian dialectic, and not the Marxist one, can snap back so cleanly to its origins like this, suggesting in essence that Aufhebung was always forever a spectralization and not a mediation in general, that in other words the 1 ultimate truth of the Hegelian dialectic is spirit, not negation or becoming or anything so usefully mechanical. The negation is thus revoked during synthesis, much more than it is resolved. -
Warren Mcculloch and the British Cyberneticians
Warren McCulloch and the British cyberneticians Article (Accepted Version) Husbands, Phil and Holland, Owen (2012) Warren McCulloch and the British cyberneticians. Interdisciplinary Science Reviews, 37 (3). pp. 237-253. ISSN 0308-0188 This version is available from Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/43089/ This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher’s version. Please see the URL above for details on accessing the published version. Copyright and reuse: Sussex Research Online is a digital repository of the research output of the University. Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable, the material made available in SRO has been checked for eligibility before being made available. Copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk Warren McCulloch and the British Cyberneticians1 Phil Husbands and Owen Holland Dept. Informatics, University of Sussex Abstract Warren McCulloch was a significant influence on a number of British cyberneticians, as some British pioneers in this area were on him. -
A Dictionary of Cybernetics
Annenberg School for Communication Departmental Papers (ASC) University of Pennsylvania Year 1986 A Dictionary of Cybernetics Klaus Krippendorff University of Pennsylvania, kkrippendorff@asc.upenn.edu This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/asc papers/224 A DICTIONARY OF CYBERNETICS by Klaus Krippendorff University of Pennsylvania version 2/2/86 A dictionary like the discipline whose terminology it aims to clarify is constantly in flux. It is aided by communal efforts and in turn aids communication within the community of users. Critical comments and suggestions, especially for including new or omitting useless entries, for improving the wording, for references that may need to be added should be directed to: Klaus Krippendorff The Annenberg School of Communications University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia PA 19104 NOTE: This dictionary is not intended to represent the American Society for Cybernetics nor the opinions of any of its members: neither does it replace the current Cybernetics Glossary. Klaus Krippendorff has been kind enough to make his work available to ASC members in order to stimulate discussion on the language of cybernetics. as well as on the idea of a dictionary itself. ABSOLUTE DISCRIMINATION: ->LIMIT OF ABSOLUTE DISCRIMINATION ADAPTATION: STABILITY of success in the face of a changing environment. Two kinds of adaptation are distinguished. (a) Darwinian adaptation after Darwin who observed how organisms change their internal STRUCTURE when their environment makes existing forms no longer viable. E.g., Ashby's HOMEOSTAT searches for a new pattern of behavior as soon as disturbances in its surroundings drive or threaten to drive its essential VARIABLEs outside specified limits. -
Second-Order Economics As an Example of Second-Order Cybernetics
Cybernetics and Human Knowing. Vol. 18, nos. 3-4, pp. xx-xx Second-Order Economics as an Example of Second-Order Cybernetics Stuart A. Umpleby1 Heinz von Foerster proposed that the observer should be included in the domain of observation. He suggested that this approach to cybernetics be called second-order cybernetics. Heinz was primarily interested in understanding cognition, based on neurophysiology and mathematics. But there has also been strong interest in cybernetics as a theory of social systems. Using the “second order” idea for existing social science fields would focus attention on the role of the observer and on reflexive phenomena such as the effect of theories on what is being studied. This article considers how the field of economics might adopt the second order idea. A Current Task for Cybernetics In emphasizing the role of the observer and creating the term second-order cybernetics Von Foerster was ahead of his time. One example is the fact that the field of economics may be on the verge of beginning research on second-order economics. But before explaining why that is happening, some background is necessary. Von Foerster was persuaded that the observer needed to be studied as well as the observed. The traditional philosophy of science maintained that scientific observations should be independent of the characteristics of the observer. However, as Humberto Maturana noted, “Anything said is said by an observer” (Maturana, 1970, p. 4). Hence, excluding the observer from consideration is a kind of denial. Von Foerster sustained and advanced the field of cybernetics when many others had returned to their home disciplines. -
The Scoop on Sophomore Machines Karen Postupac Nology at the College, Sophomores Have Was Released in August Editor-In-Chief Spoke on the Issue
Tennis takes title SPORTS Return to the upside-down Women’s team wins PACs “Stranger Things” comes back just in time for Halloween Digging for hope LIFE Project Okello raises money for ENTERTAINMENT clean water The Friday, October 27, 2017 CollegianThe Grove City College Student Newspaper Vol. 103, No. 6 BECCA SHAFFER To celebrate music, marching and majorettes, high school bands from around the county came to Grove City College to perform their shows. All of the bands gave spec- tacular performances for alumni and peers alike on Thorn Field, where the Wolverine marching band will perform Saturday during the football game against Geneva. March-ing madness Steven Gosselin lege hosted the inaugu- Junior/Senior High Tiger Marching Band traditional high step an interest in the band Staff Writer ral Marching Band In- School Falcon March- and the Grove City High and the Sharon Tiger routine. According to vitational and Festival, ing Band, the Mighty School Marching Band, Marching Band for per- freshman Wolverine “A great day for featuring six local high Mercer Mustang the night was sure to forming music from band member Sarah band!” said Dr. Joseph school bands, as well as Marching Machine, the impress. Star Wars. Gorog, “It was great to Pisano, director of the a performance by the Lincoln High School All the bands gave The performers were have people who sup- Grove City College Wol- Wolverines. Marching Blue Band, great performances, all respectful and en- port band on campus, verine Marching Band, Featuring the guest the Slippery Rock High with two standouts be- couraging of their peers’ performing and enjoy- and it definitely was! talents of the Allegh- School Rocket March- ing the LHS Blue Band performances and ev- On Saturday, the Col- eny-Clarion Valley ing Band, the Sharon for marching with a eryone there shared BAND 2 The scoop on sophomore machines Karen Postupac nology at the College, Sophomores have was released in August Editor-in-Chief spoke on the issue. -
Meta-Analysis of Knowledge Assets for Continuous Improvement of Maintenance Cost Controlling
Meta-analysis of Knowledge Assets for Continuous Improvement of Maintenance Cost Controlling genehmigte DISSERTATION zur Erlangung des Grades eines Doktors der Ingenieurwissenschaften vorgelegt von M.Sc. Fazel Ansari Chaharsoughi eingereicht bei der Naturwissenschaftlich-Technischen Fakultät der Universität Siegen Siegen 2014 gedruckt auf alterungsbeständigem holz- und säurefreiem Papier 1. Gutachter: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Madjid Fathi 2. Gutachter: Prof. Dr. Volker Wulf Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 20.11.2014 I Meta-analysis of Knowledge Assets for Continuous Improvement of Maintenance Cost Controlling Acknowledgements My work owes its success to a great number of people. Foremost, I would like to acknowledge the contribution of my family. Without the support of my wife and colleague, Marjan, the successful development and completion of my research would not have been possible. Marjan inspires me to endure the usual hardship experienced with such long-term research. I am delighted to dedicate this work to her. My work has also taken me far away from my homeland and, therefore, has prevented me from sharing certain special moments with my parents. I hope to be a better family member and son with regards to involve- ment in family matters in the future. I would like to thank my first Ph.D. supervisor Prof. Dr.-Ing. Madjid Fathi, chair of the Institute of Knowledge-Based Systems and Knowledge Manage- ment (KBS&KM) at the University of Siegen. He has supported me in devel- oping an academic career and provided opportunities for me to become in- volved in both European- and industry-funded research projects. I would also like to thank my second Ph.D. -
Connecting Science and Wisdom Derstood Them in Her Lifetime
ew concepts are so rich in meaning and at the same time so open to a diversity of interpretations as is “nature.” “Na- ture” refers to the immense reality in which every thing and Fperson exists and of which they constitute an integral part. It is precisely this reality of nature that I will discuss, tracing briefly The “Book of Nature” some of its characteristics as Chiara Lubich experienced and un- Connecting Science and Wisdom derstood them in her lifetime. The term “nature” generally refers to all existing things, with Sergio Rondinara particular regard to their objective configuration and their essen- Sophia University Institute tial constitutive principles. This connection between totality and essentiality—as the etymology of the word “nature” suggests1—is also found in Chiara’s reflections. Their deeply theological charac- Rondinara explores the reality of nature, both in its totality and in ter must be understood not so much as human speech about God its essence, from different perspectives. In so doing, he discusses how and the divine mystery but in their proper meaning as a subjective Chiara Lubich envisions nature in relation to God and humankind. genitive—a word that is both noun and verb.2 In language that First, he examines the God- nature relation as Chiara understood it, as seems ordinary, her texts shine with clarity and incisiveness. They both immanent and transcendent. Then, he turns to Chiara’s notion of offer God’s vision of things and of the natural world, a contempla- nature as an ongoing “event” in history leading to the recapitulation of tive gaze that—metaphorically speaking—comes from the “eyes of all things in God. -
The Science of the Unknowable: Stafford Beer's Cybernetic Informatics
The Science of the Unknowable: Stafford Beer’s Cybernetic Informatics Andrew Pickering University of Illinois Department of Sociology Urbana, IL 61801 [email protected] Cybernetics and New Ontologies: An interview session with Andrew Pickering Kristian Hvidtfelt Nielsen [email protected] The Steno Institute University of Aarhus Working Papers from Centre for STS Studies Department of Information & Media Studies University of Aarhus Published by The Centre for STS Studies, Aarhus 2006. Editorial board: Peter Lauritsen, Simon Kiilerich Madsen, Finn Olesen. Andrew Pickering: The Science of the Unknowable: Stafford Beer’s Cybernetic Informatics Kristian Hvidtfelt Nielsen: Cybernetics and New Ontologies: An interview session with Andrew Pickering © The authors, 2006. Printed at Fællestrykkeriet for Sundhedsvidenskab, University of Aarhus. Cover design: Annette Bjerre Design. ISBN 9788791386121 (print) ISBN 9788791386138 (web) The Centre for STS Studies Department of Information & Media Studies Helsingforsgade 14 DK-8200 Aarhus N Tel: +45 8942 9200 Fax: +45 8942 5950 [email protected] http://imv.au.dk/sts The Science of the Unknowable: Stafford Beer’s Cybernetic Informatics Andrew Pickering University of Illinois Department of Sociology [email protected] This essay derives from a larger project exploring the history of cybernetics in Britain in and after World War II.1 The project focusses on the work of four British cyberneticians—Grey Walter, Ross Ashby, Stafford Beer and Gordon Pask; here I focus on Stafford Beer, the founder of the field he called management cybernetics, and his work in informatics.2 Anthony Stafford Beer was born in London in 1926. He joined the British Army in 1944 after just one year as an undergraduate in London, and served in India and Britain. -
Kant on Formative Power
26 Ina Goy INA GOY KANT(Concordia ON FORMATIVE University, Montreal POWER) The notion of a formative1 power is one of the most obscure in Kant’s theory of biology . Before I discuss Kant’s biological use of the term ‘formative power’, in section 1 of this paper I provide a list of all passages in which Kant uses the term, claiming that the older meaning of ‘formative power’ in Kant’s writings is an epi- stemological one, whereas the biological meaning of the term ap- pears not before the mid-1780s. I present and discuss some of thoseCriti passagesque of thein closer power detail, of jud andgment give a precise interpretation of the most central passage in Kant’s philosophy2 of biology in §65 of the . I defend the view that, for Kant, the formative power is a basic, immaterial, and intrinsic natural power in the organism belonging to an account of final causation. As a cause, it does not generate form and matter, or the matter of organisms, but only the end-directed teleological3 form of the matter of an organism. AsKant an on alternative vital force. Metaphysical to White’s concernsclaim ver- sus1 scientific practice Kants Philosophie der Natur. Ihre Entwick- lungFor imrecent inquiries seeund H. van ihre den WirkungBerg, Bildungskraft, in E.-O. und Onnasch Bildungstrieb (ed.), bei ibid. Der Baum imOpus Baum. postumumModellkörper, reproductive, Berlin Systeme- New und York, die DeDifferenzGruyterzwischen, 2009, pp. Leben 115- digem136; G.F. und Frigo, Unlebendigem bei Kant und Bonnet ibidKant, in , pp. 9-23; T. BlCheung,umenbach and Kant on mechanism and teleology in nature: the case of the formative drive The problem of animal generation in early, in modern, pp. -
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UC Irvine UC Irvine Previously Published Works Title Towards a performative aesthetics of interactivity Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6w42d6p2 Author Penny, SG Publication Date 2011-12-01 License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 4.0 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California The Fibreculture Journal DIGITAL MEDIA + NETWORKS + TRANSDISCIPLINARY CRITIQUE issue 19 2011: Ubiquity issn: 1449 1443 FCJ-132 Towards a Performative Aesthetics of Interactivity Simon Penny University of California, Irvine Introduction As I write this, at the end of 2010, it is sobering to reflect on the fact that over a couple of decades of explosive development in new media art (or ‘digital multimedia’ as it used to be called), in screen based as well as ‘embodied’ and gesture based interaction, the aesthetics of interaction doesn’t seem to have advanced much. At the same time, interaction schemes and dynamics which were once only known in obscure corners of the world of media art research/ creation have found their way into commodities from 3D TV and game platforms (Wii, Kinect) to sophisticated phones (iPhone, Android). While increasingly sophisticated theoretical analyses (from Manovich, 2002 to Chun, 2008 to Hansen, 2006, more recently Stern, 2011 and others) have brought diverse perspectives to bear, I am troubled by the fact that we appear to have ad- vanced little in our ability to qualitatively discuss the characteristics of aesthetically rich interac- tion and interactivity and the complexities of designing interaction as artistic practice; in ways which can function as a guide to production as well as theoretical discourse.