
A Software Engineer’s Guide to Cybernetics - mbellotti
https://medium.com/@bellmar/a-software-engineers-guide-to-cybernetics-d57c7def1453
======
nanna
I wrote my PhD on the philosophy of Norbert Wiener, namely, 'cybernetics'.

I think what people haven't realised is that for Wiener - though not
necessarily the successive generations of Cyberneticians per se - cybernetics
names not only a transdisciplinary field of study, not only a primitive form
of control engineering, but a philosophical system that contends directly with
GW Leibniz's monadology. Wiener considered it to be a kind of monster, a
'golem', since whereas the monadology posits universal beneficence throughout
nature and humankind, Wiener's cybernetics is, when applied to human
societies, structurally, infinitely, conflictual. Moreover it points towards
awesome consolidations of power.

Generations of readers of cybernetics have completely missed or disregarded
this aspect of his thought, conveniently mistaking a system of regulation in
nature for a system of regulation in artificial human societies. For Wiener
there is no self-regulation in the body politic, societies are fundamentally
anti-homeostatic, and the techniques that his generation had bequeathed to the
world would only exacerbate its positive feedback loop.

This is why, for me, Wiener is still so compelling, despite the unfathomable
equations, the desperate arrogance, the stuffy air of cigars. He was the first
to see the world that Snowden brought to the public's attention. And it's all
there, systematically in 1948 (and even, sort of, earlier).

~~~
specialist
Please say more.

I would LOVE to hear how Wiener might interpret today's world.

As a total noob, I'm often delighted by the insights of earlier commentators.
The people who lived thru great transformations, so can remember the before
times, allowing them to see the now more clearly.

Like your lament about Wiener's ignored analysis and insights, rereading
McLuhan was very fruitful. His concept of autoamputation seems to have been
completely ignored. (Over stimulation leads to shutting down that sensory
input.) But it's such a great way of describing the impact of modern rhetoric.

Sometimes I wonder if it's like Steve Jobs' visit to Xerox PARC. Jobs admits
they (Apple) were so captivated by GUIs they totally missed other breakthrough
concepts like object-oriented.

~~~
metroholografix
Read his book, God and Golem. The essence is all there including most of his
projections for the future.

Besides predicting to a T multiple aspects of the world we're now
experiencing, this book is full of insinuations about several conditions yet
to arise (or maybe risen but yet to be discovered!). He doesn't explicitly lay
them out, but leaves you to identify and connect the dots. This occultation of
ideas is somewhat common in early cybernetics works.

Needless to say, the vision of Wiener will be seen by many who understand it
as supremely negative.

An alternative is explored in 'Steps to an Ecology of Mind' by Bateson.

~~~
eternalban
Thanks for the cite. Here is the pdf simson.net/ref/1963/God_And_Golem_Inc.pdf

I suspect (not having yet read the above beyond the preface) the root issue
is, as usual, the nature of consciousness. My own views on that subject are
fringe per du jour orthodoxy which states that 'mind arises from structure'.
Weiner seems to take it for granted that an algorithm "learned" something.
Does an algorithm even have a "self" that would "learn"? I personally think
we're being careless with word usage.

Once you contest the implicit equivalence made between 'form' and 'meaning'
which occurs when one asserts that a _mechanical /causal_ device has "learned"
something -- all we have _observed_ is form in -> form out -- then the 2
remaining "points in cybernetics" are "[machine] self-reproduction", and,
"man-machine coordination".

These last two are difficult topics -only- if generously attribute
"consciousness" to machines that auto-extend their state transition map.
Otherwise, they are interesting but not cosmic questions. And further, one can
still entertain a 'Universal Mind' and speculations such as Leibniz's
monadology, happily coexiting with a science of cybernetics.

------
the_decider
The first trained multilayer deep neural network was presented by the Soviets
in 1970 in a paper titled “Heuristic Self-Organization in Problems of
Engineering Cybernetics“
[http://www.gmdh.net/articles/history/heuristic.pdf](http://www.gmdh.net/articles/history/heuristic.pdf)

~~~
Barrin92
I feel it's some kind of unwritten law that every time you think you've solved
something, there's some Soviet engineer who already did it a few decades ago

I imagine the solution to every problem can be found lying on a shelf,
untranslated in a research lab in the middle of nowhere in Russia

~~~
walterbell
They also developed TRIZ, a Russian algorithm for inventing new systems,
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRIZ)

 _> a theory which defines generalisable patterns in the nature of inventive
solutions and the distinguishing characteristics of the problems that these
inventions have overcome_

It's been used by Samsung and other orgs.

~~~
eternalban
[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/40_princ...](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/40_principles_of_TRIZ_method_720dpi.jpg)

Looking at that cheat-sheet, it's interesting how you can recognize elements
of one's own process. I bet almost everyone can check off a few of those boxes
as "I do this all the time".

Also interesting to note there are no _interaction_ principles. "19 Pulsed
Action Periodic Action" can be mapped in software systems to PUSH+Timer, but
that's it. TRIZ apparently lacks the vocabulary to explore the space of
interacting components [as first class "principles"].

------
sgillen
Missing from the article is any discussion of control theory. In my view
cybernetics essentially morphed into modern day control theory, there are many
examples of very broad ideas in cybernetics being made specific and rigorous
in controls. For example the good regulator theorem became the internal model
principle. I encourage anyone interested in learning more about this brand of
cybernetics to pick up a control or dynamical systems textbook, researchers
have definitely not been idle in this area!

~~~
robocat
From article: "Over time, cybernetics’s contributions were stripped away and
reclassified as something else. Early work on feedback loops in cognition
became AI. Models of the format of feedback loops became information theory.
Work on feedback loops around production became part of economics. Work on
mathematical representations of complex systems became system dynamics. Work
on feedback loops in behavior moved over to sociology and psychology.
Cybernetic theory practically founded anthropology and cognitive science."

Control theory is just one amongst many splinters, without any implied primacy
of control theory.

~~~
amatic
Control theory certainly predates Wiener's cybernetics. He did not invent
negative feedback analysis nor design of control systems. He did fail to cite
previous work, so adherents of cybernetics think he did.

~~~
ethn
In Cybernetics, he does credit Maxwell, Pitts, etc. He goes through the entire
history of science relevant to Cybernetics for the first and second chapters.

He did invent plenty of feedback analysis techniques and modern control
systems before writing Cybernetics

~~~
amatic
There are many developments relevant for cybernetics that were not mentioned
in the book Cybernetics, like discoveries of H.S. Black and other engineers in
Bell labs, or early mechanical analog computers. Here is a short review of
book on the history of control engineering before cybernetics:
[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/acs.839](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/acs.839)

"[...] general reader could be forgiven for assuming that Wiener was the
originator of the idea of feedback control. Significant though these war-time
contributions were, they were not the whole story: as I and others have shown
feedback control has had a much longer history"

That text includes more references to papers and books on the history of ideas
relevant for control theory and control engineering.

------
atarian
>The word cybernetics comes from the greek κυβερνήτης (kybernḗtēs) which means
a pilot, governor, someone who steers.

TIL that's also where Kubernetes comes from.

------
lubesGordi
Principia Cybernetica was one of the older sites on the web that I remember.
Mirrored here:
[http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MST.html](http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MST.html)

That's a link to the 'metasystem transition', a concept coined by Russian
cybernetician Valentin Turchin (not mentioned in the article).

Cybernetics sounds cool (always has), but I think it lives on nowadays as
control theory. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. Seems like most control
theory guys are working on autonomous vehicles now.

~~~
ilaksh
The concept of the metasystem transition has inspired me for a long time. In
almost a spiritual sense. Because it just is such a powerful event. I imagine
someday brain computer interfaces or general AI could give rise to a
metasystem transition. Hopefully it won't turn out like those Star Trek
episodes.

------
rmujica
For some arcane reason, my CS degree had a course in Cybernetics and Systems
Theory (which is weird because it is not taught in any other degree in my
country, and it is taught by one professor that happened to study Cybernetics
in the 60s in East Germany). It is possibly the one course that changed my
perception about things, interactions and feedback loops, and it still piques
my curiosity.

~~~
taneq
Probably because 'Cybernetics' has a way cooler ring to it than 'Control
Systems'.

~~~
richev
This may be why an 18-year old me chose to do a degree in Cybernetics and
Control Engineering! Excited by the first word, I didn't dwell too much on the
last two.

Sure, there was some fun robotics, electronics and math, but also some truly
baffling control theory. Thankfully there was also a small amount of Computer
Science, which sent me down the programming path that I remain on today...

------
briga
Is there any point in learning about cybernetics these days? It certainly
sounds very important. But does it have an impact on software engineering as
we know it today?

Side note: I find it interesting that Weiner's book, which was fairly
technical and full of rather arcane calculus, was widely popular among general
readers. Just goes to show how much reading culture has changed since the 50s.

~~~
merridew22
I would highly recommend reading Brain of the Firm by Stafford Beer.

It’s the most fantastic layman’s introduction to cybernetics, written from the
perspective of the economist behind the “Cyber” in the Chilean CyberSyn
project (1970-3).

I discovered him reading People’s Republic of Walmart, another fantastic book
about how effective socialist strategies for centralized government are
applied in piecemeal to the largest corporations on the globe.

Highly, highly recommended—-and yes, I believe it’s valuable to learn about
cybernetics. It teaches us that we don’t need more computers, or faster
computers—-we need to use computers in different ways. Basically, we’ve
already got the solutions to our problems, but we don’t implement them because
we’re trapped by classic civilizational barriers (it’s hard to change people’s
minds in the face of a culture that doesn’t want their minds to change).

~~~
carschno
For a more recent study about the Chilean approach, I can recommend
"Cybernetic Revolutionaries" by Eden Medina (2011, MIT Press,
[link]([https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/cybernetic-
revolutionaries](https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/cybernetic-revolutionaries))).

~~~
nanna
+1 This is the standard work on Chile's Cybersyn. All articles and chapters on
it found elsewhere are basically rewritings of this book.

------
platz
cybernetics links:

Second-order cybernetics [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-
order_cybernetics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second-order_cybernetics)

Systems_theory: Cybernetics
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_theory#Cybernetics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Systems_theory#Cybernetics)

what is cybernetics? [https://vimeo.com/41776276](https://vimeo.com/41776276)

design for a self-regenerating organization
[https://www.pangaro.com/ashby+design-for-self-
regenerating-c...](https://www.pangaro.com/ashby+design-for-self-regenerating-
corporation.htm)

notes 358 on the role of leadership & language in regenerating organizations
[http://www.pangaro.com/littlegreybook-
dom.pdf](http://www.pangaro.com/littlegreybook-dom.pdf)

towards a theoretical foundation for agile development
[https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7302798](https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7302798)

2017 cybernetics conference
[https://livestream.com/internetsociety2/cybercon](https://livestream.com/internetsociety2/cybercon)

2017 cybernetics conference - proxy politics as social cybernetics
[https://livestream.com/internetsociety2/cybercon/videos/1662...](https://livestream.com/internetsociety2/cybercon/videos/166218044)

how cybernetics connects computing, counterculture, and design
[http://www.dubberly.com/articles/cybernetics-and-
countercult...](http://www.dubberly.com/articles/cybernetics-and-
counterculture.html)

a tale of the mirror world, part 1: calculators and cybernetics
[https://www.filfre.net/2017/06/tales-of-the-mirror-world-
par...](https://www.filfre.net/2017/06/tales-of-the-mirror-world-
part-1-calculators-and-cybernetics/)

Niklas Luhmann: Systems Theory
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niklas_Luhmann#Systems_theory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niklas_Luhmann#Systems_theory)

------
perilunar
Worth mentioning the very popular 1960 self-help book “Psycho-Cybernetics”, by
Maxwell Maltz. Predates Doctor Who’s Cybermen as a mainstream use of the term.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho-
Cybernetics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psycho-Cybernetics)

------
ilaksh
This article reminded me of Ferren Alet's work at MIT. I think it's been clear
that feedback loops are important for certain types of intelligence for a long
time. And its exciting to see things like lots of feedback loops and
modularity being emphasized more in neural networks research.

~~~
ilaksh
Whoops. Its Ferran not Ferren.

------
PinkMilkshake
I first learned about cybernetics through the book _Creation: Life and How to
Make It by Steve Grand_. Grand created the Creatures video game and applied
ideas from cybernetics. As a result, each Norn (the name of the fictional
species the game is about) has a genome, a neural network brain, a fairly
complex biochemistry, sensors and actuators.

------
fizixer
Cybernetics is really an old word, or one of the old words, for AI/robotics.

The overarching, multidiscipline, that subsumes cybernetics, can be summarized
here:

[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Complex_...](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Complex_systems_organizational_map.jpg)

~~~
positivefeedb
> Cybernetics is really an old word, or one of the old words, for AI/robotics.

Completely wrong.

AI/robotics are but two of the many fields that cybernetic principles apply
to, and arguably not even the most important.

I suggest you look at what people like Bateson, Von Foerster and Glanville
were doing, to understand first the scope and ultimately what cybernetics
really is at its core.

------
scribu
Ah, this is so handy!

It explains why some Economics degrees have a course on Cybernetics.

------
oedmarap
> _The word cybernetics comes from the greek κυβερνήτης (kybernḗtēs) which
> means a pilot, governor, someone who steers._

TIL: Where Kubernetes got its name from.

