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 measure of intelligence is the ability to change.
The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.
The unexamined life is not worth living.
The future is an open book, but it is written in a language we do not yet understand.
The machine has its own laws, and we must learn to live with them.
The universe is a vast and complex system, and we are but a small part of it.
The most important thing in life is to learn to love.
The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.
We are all connected, and what affects one of us affects us all.
The greatest danger to our future is apathy.
The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
The human brain is a machine, but it is a machine that can think and feel.
The world is full of wonder, and we should never stop exploring it.
The past is gone, the future is uncertain, but the present is a gift.
The only constant in life is change.
We are all travelers on a journey, and we should enjoy the ride.
The greatest adventure is to live your dreams.
The purpose of life is to be happy.
The beauty of the world is a gift from God.
The truth will set you free.
Contemporaries of Norbert Wiener
Other Mathematicss born within 50 years of Norbert Wiener (1894–1964).