Understanding Understanding : Essays on Cybernetics and Cognition
Understanding Understanding: Essays on Cybernetics and Cognition Heinz von Foerster Springer UECPR 11/9/02 12:11 PM Page i Heinz von Foerster (German spelling: Heinz von Förster; November 13, 1911, Vienna – October 2, 2002, Pescadero, California) was an Austrian American scientist combining physics and philosophy, and widely attributed as the originator of Second-order cybernetics. He was twice a Guggenheim fellow (1956–57 and 1963–64) and also was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1980. He is well known for his 1960 Doomsday equation formula published in Science predicting future population growth. UECPR 11/9/02 12:11 PM Page ii Springer New York Berlin Heidelberg Hong Kong London Milan Paris Tokyo UECPR 11/9/02 12:11 PM Page iii Heinz von Foerster Understanding Understanding Essays on Cybernetics and Cognition With 122 Illustrations 1 3 UECPR 11/9/02 12:11 PM Page iv Heinz von Foerster Biological Computer Laboratory, Emeritus University of Illinois Urbana, IL 61801 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data von Foerster, Heinz, 1911– Understanding understanding: essays on cybernetics and cognition / Heinz von Foerster. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-387-95392-2 (acid-free paper) 1. Cybernetics. 2. Cognition. I. Title. Q315.5 .V64 2002 003¢.5—dc21 2001057676 ISBN 0-387-95392-2 Printed on acid-free paper. © 2003 Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher (Springer-Verlag New York, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analy- sis.
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