Negative Space: Norbert Wiener
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- The human use of human beings: Cybernetics and Society•
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There are works that come along once in an age and influence generations. Norbert Wiener’s Cybernetics is one of these works. Listen: “The dissemination of any scientific secret whatever is merely a matter of time. In this game a decade is a long time, and in the long run, there is no distinction between arming ourselves and arming our enemies.” Wiener shows a prophetic understanding of the nature of information, communication, and automated control of our environment. If you want a book that tells you about the future of the Internet, buy the one what was written in 1950.
In 1954, Norbert Wiener warned us about Twitter and other forms of social media, about the breakdown of the scientific method, and about the government funding capture of scientific progress.
Studying the past, we can improve the future. Studying the futurists of the past, we can learn the tools to improve the future.