I propose that cybernetics, as a practice area and way of thinking, has been hijacked by the tech industry and the military industrial complex. This has robbed us of a vital tool because we associate its use with our enemies.

To shine a light on the past, to hopefully help build a way to the future, let’s study cybernetics as it was imagined by its pioneers. To help in this effort, I suggest using ‘The Cybernetic Brain‘ by Andrew Pickering, as a grounding text.

Here’s a description from the Univ of Chicago publisher:

“The Cybernetic Brain explores a largely forgotten group of British thinkers, including Grey Walter, Ross Ashby, Gregory Bateson, R. D. Laing, Stafford Beer, and Gordon Pask, and their singular work in a dazzling array of fields. Psychiatry, engineering, management, politics, music, architecture, education, tantric yoga, the Beats, and the sixties counterculture all come into play as Pickering follows the history of cybernetics’ impact on the world, from contemporary robotics and complexity theory to the Chilean economy under Salvador Allende. What underpins this fascinating history, Pickering contends, is a shared but unconventional vision of the world as ultimately unknowable, a place where genuine novelty is always emerging.”

Participation:

To join the group:

• Join the Patreon (it’s free)
• Get a copy of the book (let me know if that’s a problem and I’ll try to find other ways to share the text)
• Join the Discord for discussion (the invite will go to Patreon members once seriousness has been vetted; there are a lot of clowns out here, we need to be a good group)

When we have a ‘critical mass’ (at least five people) we can begin. The plan is to go through the book, chapter by chapter, meeting once a week to discuss what we’re learning and help each other understand and research.

Forward!