History of Computers - Norbert Wiener
Norbert Wiener (November 26, 1894 – March 18, 1964) was an American mathematician. A child prodigy, Weiner was a professor at MIT and invented Cybernetics, the study of human control functions and the mechanical and electronic systems designed to replace them. [1]
Overview
Life
Norbert Weiner, the son of Leo Wiener, a Harvard Professor, and Bertha Kahn Wiener, was born on November 26, 1894, in Columbia, MO. Wiener was a child prodigy who entered high school at the age of nine, graduated at eleven, and completed his first college degree at fourteen. [2] After World War I, Wiener became an instructor at MIT. Then, during World War II, Weiner worked with guided missile technology. While working, he noticed how the missiles used the feedback principle, in this case how the missile changes its course in response to its position and direction. Weiner then noticed that all living things use the feedback principle; they change their actions depending on their environment. Weiner developed this concept and created Cybernetics. [3]
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the study of control functions in living and mechanical beings. It was created by Norbert Wiener in 1948 when he published his book called Cybernetics. Wiener's cybernetics had a powerful influence on later scientists. His work changed how people thought of computer technology and greatly impacted the developers of the Internet, most notably J.C.R. Licklider. [4]
Significance
Wiener's work has greatly influenced the current age by influencing the people who developed the Internet and creating a new field of study, Cybernetics. Today, Wiener's work is being used to try and find possible cures for spinal cord injuries. In the future it may be possible to control the human nervous system using a microchip. [5] Aside from medicinal purposes, Wiener's work has also impacted the study of robotics.
References
- ↑ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/cybernetics
- ↑ http://www.nndb.com/people/229/000103917/
- ↑ http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ii_wiener.htm
- ↑ http://www.livinginternet.com/i/ii_wiener.htm
- ↑ http://www.infinitec.org/learn/learningaboutat/robotics-cybernetics.htm
Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norbert_Wiener#cite_note-9
http://libraries.mit.edu/archives/research/collections/collections-mc/mc22.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybernetics
by Janine Louie
