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 machine is not a master, but it is a servant. And like any servant, it can be a good one or a bad one.
The machine is not a god, but it is a powerful force. And like any powerful force, it must be treated with respect.
The machine is not a panacea, but it is a powerful tool for solving problems.
The machine is not a toy, but it is a serious instrument. And like any serious instrument, it must be used with care.
The machine is not a monster, but it is a powerful creation. And like any powerful creation, it must be understood.
The machine is not a substitute for human responsibility, but it is a powerful aid to it.
The machine is not a threat to human freedom, but it is a challenge to human wisdom.
The machine is not a threat to human creativity, but it is a powerful tool for enhancing it.
The machine is not a threat to human values, but it is a powerful tool for realizing them.
The machine is not a threat to human progress, but it is a powerful engine for accelerating it.
The machine is not a threat to human happiness, but it is a powerful tool for achieving it.
The machine is not a threat to human survival, but it is a powerful tool for ensuring it.
The machine is not a threat to human evolution, but it is a powerful force for shaping it.
The machine is not a threat to human destiny, but it is a powerful instrument for fulfilling it.
The machine is not a threat to human nature, but it is a powerful mirror for reflecting it.
The machine is not a threat to human consciousness, but it is a powerful tool for expanding it.
The machine is not a threat to human intelligence, but it is a powerful tool for augmenting it.
The machine is not a threat to human knowledge, but it is a powerful tool for acquiring and disseminating it.
The machine is not a threat to human communication, but it is a powerful tool for facilitating it.
The machine is not a threat to human society, but it is a powerful force for transforming it.
Contemporaries of Norbert Wiener
Other Mathematicss born within 50 years of Norbert Wiener (1894–1964).