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In Our Time · May 28, 2026 · 52m

Cybernetics

Jacob Ward, Jon Agar, Orit Halpern
Show Notes

In this episode of In Our Time, Misha Glenny and guests explore the origins and legacy of cybernetics, the mid-20th-century field that sought a universal language for communication and control in machines and living beings. Defined by Norbert Wiener in 1948, cybernetics placed feedback loops at the heart of understanding regulation, from simple thermostats to the complex human brain. The panel traces the term back to the Greek for 'steersman' and examines how these ideas helped lay the conceptual foundations for the information age. Historians Jacob Ward, Jon Agar, and Orit Halpern discuss the field's interdisciplinary ambitions and its enduring influence on digital culture.

This summary was generated from show notes and public descriptions, not from a full transcript review. Details may contain inaccuracies.

Canon

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Wiener Defines Cybernetics, 1948
Norbert Wiener published 'Cybernetics' in 1948, defining a new interdisciplinary field studying communication and control in animals and machines.
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Feedback Loops as the Core Mechanism
Cybernetics placed feedback loops at the center of understanding regulation and control across all types of systems.
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Highlights

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The Steersman: Greek Roots of 'Cyber'
The term 'cybernetics' comes from the ancient Greek word for a steersman who governs a ship's course.
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From Thermostats to the Human Brain
Cybernetics envisioned a single framework that could explain regulation in simple devices like thermostats and in the most complex organ, the human brain.
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Laying Foundations for the Information Age
The ideas of cybernetics helped catalyze the shift toward an information-centered worldview that defines the modern era.
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References

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From Newspeak to Cyberspeak: A History of Soviet Cybernetics — Slava Gerovitch (2004)
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Beautiful Data: A History of Vision and Reason — Orit Halpern (2015)
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How We Became Posthuman: Virtual Bodies in Cybernetics, Literature, and Informatics — N. Katherine Hayles (1999)
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John Von Neumann and Norbert Wiener: From Mathematics to the Technologies of Life and Death — Steve J. Heims (1980)
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The Cybernetics Moment: Or Why We Call Our Age the Information Age — Ronald R. Kline (2015)
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