The Science of Cybernetics and the

The term cybernetics comes from the Greek word for steersman or the helmsman on a ship. Words with the same root mean govern and governor. Norbert Wiener, who first used the term in English, defined it as “control and communication in animal and machine. ” The term was subsequently extended to social systems. Numerous other definitions have been proposed. Stafford Beer defined cybernetics as the “science of effective organization. ” Gregory Bateson said cybernetics deals with form rather than substance. Gordon Pask defined cybernetics as “the art of manipulating defensible metaphors. ” Organization theorists may regard cybernetics as a science of information processing, decision-making, learning, adaptation, and organization, whether these occur in individuals, groups, organizations, nations, or machines. Conceptual Overview The field of cybernetics was created after World War II by a group of people who were discussing “circular causal and feedback mechanisms in biological and social systems.” A series of ten conferences on this topic between 1946 and 1953 were supported by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. The field was named cybernetics after Norbert Wiene