Norbert Wiener
Personal Information
Description
Leo Wiener (27 July 1862 – 13 December 1939) was an American historian, linguist, author and translator. He is best known for his historical works on slavic languages as well as his works on Yiddish culture. Furthermore, he is well known for his books "The History of Yiddish Literature in the Nineteenth Century" (1889), "Africa and the Discovery of America" (1922), and "Mayan and Mexican Origins" (1926). His complete edition of Tolstoy's works provided a very literal translation of the text from Russian. While his edition holds value, his translations of Tolstoy's most popular novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina were largely overshadowed by Constance Garnett and Aylmer Maude.
Books
God & Golem Inc.
A comment on certain points where cybernetics impinges on religion.
The Human Use of Human Beings
"Only a few books stand as landmarks in social and scientific upheaval. Norbert Wiener's classic is one in that small company. Founder of the science of cybernetics--the study of the relationship between computers and the human nervous system--Wiener was widely misunderstood as one who advocated the automation of human life. As this book reveals, his vision was much more complex and interesting. He hoped that machines would release people from relentless and repetitive drudgery in order to achieve more creative pursuits. At the same time he realized the danger of dehumanizing and displacement. His book examines the implications of cybernetics for education, law, language, science, technology, as he anticipates the enormous impact--in effect, a third industrial revolution--that the computer has had on our lives."--Back cover.
Cybernetics, or control and communication in the animal and the machine
Cybernetics describes the application of statistical mechanics methods to communications engineering. Its subject matter ranges from such control mechanisms as servo-mechanisms, mathematical calculators, and automatic pilots, to the nerves and brain of the human body. This is a study of human control functions and mechanico-electrical systems designed to replace them. As such it impinges on every branch of science. It is the outgrowth of extensive theoretical study and experimentation by Dr. Wiener and a group of outstanding scientists -- including physiologists, psychologists, mathematicians, and electrical engineers.
Ex-prodigy: my childhood and youth
Account of the mathematician's precocious early years.