Dark Hero of the Information Age : In Search of Norbert Wiener, The Father of Cybernetics

Annotation Child prodigy and brilliant MIT mathematician, Norbert Wiener founded the revolutionary science of cybernetics and ignited the information-age explosion of computers, automation, and global telecommunications. His best-selling book, Cybernetics, catapulted him into the public spotlight, as did his chilling visions of the future and his ardent social activism. Based on a wealth of primary sources and exclusive access to Wieners closest family members, friends, and colleagues, Dark Hero of the Information Age reveals this eccentric genius as an extraordinarily complex figure. No one interested in the intersection of technology and culture will want to miss this epic story of one of the twentieth centurys most brilliant and colorful figures In the middle of the last century, Norbert Wiener--ex-child prodigy and brilliant MIT mathematician--founded the science of cybernetics, igniting the information-age explosion of computers, automation, and global telecommunications. Wiener was the first to articulate the modern notion of "feedback," and his ideas informed the work of computer pioneer John von Neumann, information theorist Claude Shannon, and anthropologists Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead. His best-selling book, Cybernetics, catapulted him into the public spotlight, as did his chilling visions of the future and his ardent social activism. So why is his work virtually unknown today? And what, in fact, is his legacy? In this book, award-winning journalists Conway and Siegelman set out to rescue Wiener's genius from obscurity and to explore the many ways in which his groundbreaking ideas continue to shape our lives

the Story Of Norbert Wiener, Child Prodigy And Brilliant Mit Mathematician

clive Thompson

wiener Was Both Brilliant And Personally Intriguing, An Absent-minded Professor Straight Out Of Central Casting. As A Character, He Was Larger Than Life; As A Scientist, He Was Smaller Than History.— The New York Times