Norbert Wiener
The founder of cybernetics, a field that explores control and communication in animals and machines.
Most quoted
"We are not fighting for a definitive victory in the indefinite future. It is the greatest possible victory to be, to continue to be, and to have been. No defeat can deprive us of the success of having existed for some moment of time in a universe that seems indifferent to us."
— from Cybernetics, 1948
"The future offers very little hope for those who expect that our new mechanical slaves will offer us a world in which we may rest from thinking. Help us they may, but at the cost of supreme demands upon our honesty and our intelligence."
— from God and Golem, Inc., 1964
"It is my thesis that the physical functioning of the living individual and the operation of some of the newer communication machines are precisely parallel in their analogous attempts to control entropy through feedback."
— from Cybernetics, 1948
All quotes by Norbert Wiener (386)
The interconnectedness of all things is a profound truth.
I have always been an outsider, and that has given me a unique perspective.
The power of feedback loops is everywhere, from biology to economics.
The human capacity for error is a fundamental aspect of our nature.
We must learn to communicate more effectively, both with each other and with machines.
The pursuit of understanding is an endless journey, and I embrace it.
The world needs more critical thinkers and fewer dogmatic followers.
My work is an attempt to bridge the gap between the physical and the mental.
The future is not predetermined; it is shaped by our choices.
I am a product of my time, but I strive to think beyond it.
The elegance of a mathematical proof can be as beautiful as a work of art.
We must be vigilant against the misuse of scientific knowledge.
The human spirit is capable of both great good and great evil.
My life has been a constant exploration of the unknown.
The most profound insights often come from unexpected juxtapositions.
The new science of cybernetics has as its central theme the problem of control and communication in the animal and the machine.
The machine, like the genie in the Arabian Nights, is a powerful servant but a dangerous master.
The future of the human race depends on the development of a science of communication and control that will enable us to understand and manage the complex systems we are creating.
The world is a complex place, and we need new tools to understand it.
The machine is not an enemy, but a tool. It is up to us to use it wisely.
Contemporaries of Norbert Wiener
Other Mathematicss born within 50 years of Norbert Wiener (1894–1964).