[Edited Message Follows] Cybernetics apparently occupies an uneasy dialectical borderland between applied mathematics, actual science, engineering/technology, philosophy, and the hermetic cultisms of pseudo- and semi- American intellectuals. La so-called semiotique also does this, but in a manner designed ultimately to frustrate rational enquiry while it cements the careers of "semioticians" whose principal aim is to secure a lifetime of fashionable groceries and mid-priced plonk while rejecting all challenges with a sniff, a shrug, and the magic phrase "of course." (This is usually followed by strings of name-dropping word salad as endless as a Mobius strip.)
Cybernetics, like psychoanalysis, by way of contrast with the the "field" of Derridean-Deleuzean etc etc pronunciation on of course! "discourse," is both indisputably real, and perhaps on the whole increasingly marginal as the futurism that made Norbert Wiener and R,D, Laing best-sellers in the late 1960s recedes into the past and becomes itself quaint and curious. Per Wikipedia, cybernetics > > has its origins in the intersection of the fields of control systems ( > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_systems ) , electrical network theory > ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circuit_theory ) , mechanical engineering ( > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_engineering ) , logic modeling ( > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logic_modeling ) , fuzzy logic ( > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzzy_logic ) , evolutionary biology ( > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_biology ) , neuroscience ( > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuroscience ) , anthropology ( > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology ) , and psychology ( > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychology ) in the 1940s, often attributed > to the Macy Conferences ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macy_Conferences ) > . Since then, cybernetics has become even broader in scope to include work > in domains such as design, [3] ( > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybernetics#cite_note-3 ) family therapy, > management and organisation, pedagogy, sociology ( > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociocybernetics ) , and the creative arts. [4] > ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybernetics#cite_note-4 ) At the same time, > questions arising from circular causality have been explored in relation > to the philosophy of science, ethics, and constructivist approaches. > Contemporary cybernetics thus varies widely in scope and focus .... The mathematical core of cybernetics was demonstrated and elaborated by Wiener, an indisputably brilliant mathematician, whose death in 1964 preceded the widespread popularization of his works on the subject. Very few people--including yours truly, a mathematical non-starter who can only think in words and diagrams--really understand this, but that has not prevented legions of cranks from latching on to the term, resulting in gems of guru-ism of the most diverse and fantastic nature--at best, futuristic crap, at worst crank quackery, possibly even including the abhorrent "dianetics" that continues to plague the world in the form of "Scientology." Raul Espejo does not appear to be in any sense a crank; very much not. While I am skeptical of Cosmonaut's turn in the direction of dialectical omniscience, so uncomfortably reminiscent of the Platypus Society and Moishe Pistone's little cenacle of insufferable "gem" graduate students, this remains IMO intensely interesting. Whether or not an actual grounding in mathematical cybernetics is necessary to grasp the significance of Cybersyn--it does not appear to be required for actual computer system development--it seems that its model for incorporating feedback of various kinds into central planning has relevance to the calculation problem that has AFAIK plagued attempts at such planning throughout its history. One hopes that practical work along such lines is proceeding as we speak. I have to say that I would much prefer to read discussions of such abstruse topics as cybernetics rather than listen to a two-hour recording. So shoot me awready. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#9264): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/9264 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/83554444/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
