Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Norbert Wiener

Quote by Norbert Wiener

Work

The human use of human beings: cybernetics and society

This book examines the concept of cybernetics—the science of communication and control in machines and living organisms—and applies it to human society. The author discusses how information theory and feedback loops influence social structures, governance, and individual autonomy. It argues that understanding these principles is essential for using technology and knowledge in ways that enhance human dignity and freedom, rather than diminishing them. The text reflects mid-20th-century concerns about automation, control systems, and the ethical responsibilities of humans in an increasingly interconnected world. more

Author

Norbert Wiener
Norbert Wiener

Norbert Wiener, born on November 26, 1894, and died on March 18, 1964, was an American mathematician and a founding figure in the field of cybernetics. Known as the 'father of the information age,' Wiener made significant contributions to mathematics, physics, and engineering, particularly in the areas of stochastic processes, Fourier analysis, and control theory. more

You May Also Like

“There is a deeper point to be made here, however, having to do with the specificity of everything. One of the great failings of our culture is the nearly universal belief that there can be anything universal. We as a culture take the same approach to living in Phoenix as in Seattle as in Miami, to the detriment of all these landscapes. We turn wild trees to standardized two-by-fours. We turn living fish into fish sticks. But every fish is different from every other fish. Every student is different from every other student. Every place is different from every other place. If we are ever to hope to begin to live sustainably in place (which is the only way to live sustainably), we will have to remember specificity is everything.”

“Unfortunately, the critics of economics have had a tendency to discuss the whole structure as a tissue of misconceptions. It is a critique that fails. The strength of economics is its considerable, if far from complete, understanding of the flows and comparative advantages that underlie trade, jobs, capital and incomes, and the logic of optimising behaviour, all backed by glittering accomplishment in mathematics. That makes it a powerful analytical instrument, so that just a few misconceptions – such as a failure to understand the informal economy or resource depletion – have leverage: like a baby monkey at the controls of a Ferrari, they can turn it into an instrument with extraordinarily destructive potential. If it were a tissue of errors, it would not be dangerous: it is its 90 percent brilliance which makes it so.”

“Globalisation and localisation are not antithetical but rather correlated processes: evolution of the concept of territoriality and the risk of levelling and sameness (of values, culture and so forth) make it necessary to reconsider and valorise local belonging and diversity.”