Dark Hero of the Information Age In Search of Norbert Weiner the Father of Cybernetics

In the middle part of this century, Norbert Weiner--child prodigy and brilliant. MIT mathematician--founded the revolutionary science of cybernetics and ignited the information-age explosion of computers, automation, and global telecommunications. The first to articulate modern notions of "feedback" and "information," Weiner's ideas informed the work of computer pioneer John von Neumann, neuroscientists Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts, and anthropologists Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead. His best-selling book, Cybernetics, which revealed the common principles underlying computers and the human nervous system, catapulted him into the public spotlight, as did his chilling visions of the future and his ardent social activism. So what happened? Why have his contributions gone virtually unrecognized? And what, in fact, is Weiner's legacy? In this remarkable book, veteran writers Conway and Siegelman set out to rehabilitate this eccentric genius, and to explore the many ways in which his groundbreaking ideas continue to shape our lives. Based on a wealth of primary sources (including some wartime documents only recently declassified) and exclusive access to Weiner's closet family members, friends, and colleagues, the book reveals an extraordinarily complex figure, whose high-pressure childhood, subsequent manic depression, and troubled marriage had a profound effect on his scientific work. That work remains relevant even today, as cyberspace netizens jump aboard the analog train (the next computing revolution and one of Weiner's most enduring contributions), while the disillusioned warn against increasing technological enslavement (Weiner's greatest fear). No one interested in theintersection of technology and culture will want to miss this epic story of one of the 20th century's most brilliant and colorful figures.Conway, Flo is the author of 'Dark Hero of the Information Age In Search of Norbert Weiner the Father of Cybernetics' with ISBN 9780465013715 and ISBN 0465013716.