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Cybernetic Brain : Sketches of Another Future by Andrew Pickering (2011, Hardcover)
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About this product
Product Identifiers
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press
ISBN-100226667898
ISBN-139780226667898
eBay Product ID (ePID)79247955
Product Key Features
Number of Pages536 Pages
Publication NameCybernetic Brain : Sketches of Another Future
LanguageEnglish
Publication Year2011
SubjectNeuroscience, General, System Theory, Europe / Great Britain / General, History, Cybernetics
TypeTextbook
Subject AreaComputers, Science, History, Medical
AuthorAndrew Pickering
FormatHardcover
Dimensions
Item Height1.6 in
Item Weight34.4 Oz
Item Length9.3 in
Item Width6.3 in
Additional Product Features
Intended AudienceScholarly & Professional
LCCN2009-023367
Reviews"Entertaining. . . .The Cybernetic Brainis the first book-length account of UK cybernetics pioneers."-Nature, "Entertaining. . . . The Cybernetic Brain is the first book-length account of UK cybernetics pioneers."- Nature, "Entertaining. . . . The Cybernetic Brain is the first book-length account of UK cybernetics pioneers."-- Nature, By focusing on the developments in Britain, Andrew Pickering's The Cybernetic Brain opens wide new vistas for exploring cybernetic practice and its legacy. For Pickering . . . cybernetics was primarily a science of the brain. As a protean science with connections to psychiatry, theater, music, politics, and counterculture, it was a lot more glamorous and fun than previous accounts of the field would have us believe., "The Cybernetic Brain is a rich, ambitious, and highly original work���and a gently hopeful one. Pickering has really written two books in one. The first is a history of the work of several key British cyberneticians and its impact on subsequent scientific and cultural debates. The second is a quietly passionate critique of modernist ways of knowing and being and a plea for the reintroduction of the sorts of practice-based, adaptable, techno-social modes common to cybernetic inquiry. Pickering weaves the analysis and the advocacy together across the book, and his vision of what a non-modern world might look like���or in fact, has looked like���is novel and compelling and will substantially extend our understanding of contemporary technoculture."���Fred Turner, Stanford University, "What a lovely book this is���it tells a great story from the history of cybernetics and at the same time examines in innovative ways the complex ontological work they were doing. Pickering shows how ''ontology'' is integrally about machines, materiality and philosophy���developing what I would call a theory of exploratory ontology. If this is what Pickering does, we should all learn how to picker."���Geoffrey C. Bowker, University of Pittsburgh, "What a lovely book this is-it tells a great story from the history of cybernetics and at the same time examines in innovative ways the complex ontological work they were doing. Pickering shows how ''ontology'' is integrally about machines, materiality and philosophy-developing what I would call a theory of exploratory ontology."-Geoffrey C. Bowker, University of Pittsburgh, The Cybernetic Brain is a rich, ambitious, and highly original work--and a gently hopeful one. Pickering has really written two books in one. The first is a history of the work of several key British cyberneticians and its impact on subsequent scientific and cultural debates. The second is a quietly passionate critique of modernist ways of knowing and being and a plea for the reintroduction of the sorts of practice-based, adaptable, techno-social modes common to cybernetic inquiry. Pickering weaves the analysis and the advocacy together across the book, and his vision of what a non-modern world might look like--or in fact, has looked like--is novel and compelling and will substantially extend our understanding of contemporary technoculture., " The Cybernetic Brain is a rich, ambitious, and highly original work-and a gently hopeful one. Pickering has really written two books in one. The first is a history of the work of several key British cyberneticians and its impact on subsequent scientific and cultural debates. The second is a quietly passionate critique of modernist ways of knowing and being and a plea for the reintroduction of the sorts of practice-based, adaptable, techno-social modes common to cybernetic inquiry. Pickering weaves the analysis and the advocacy together across the book, and his vision of what a non-modern world might look like-or in fact, has looked like-is novel and compelling and will substantially extend our understanding of contemporary technoculture."-Fred Turner, Stanford University, What a lovely book this is--it tells a great story from the history of cybernetics and at the same time examines in innovative ways the complex ontological work they were doing. Pickering shows how 'ontology' is integrally about machines, materiality and philosophy--developing what I would call a theory of exploratory ontology., "By focusing on the developments in Britain, Andrew Pickering''s The Cybernetic Brain opens wide new vistas for exploring cybernetic practice and its legacy. For Pickering . . . cybernetics was primarily a science of the brain. As a protean science with connections to psychiatry, theater, music, politics, and counterculture, it was a lot more glamorous and fun than previous accounts of the field would have us believe."- Science, "By focusing on the developments in Britain, Andrew Pickering''sThe Cybernetic Brainopens wide new vistas for exploring cybernetic practice and its legacy. For Pickering . . . cybernetics was primarily a science of the brain. As a protean science with connections to psychiatry, theater, music, politics, and counterculture, it was a lot more glamorous and fun than previous accounts of the field would have us believe."-Science, What a lovely book this is-it tells a great story from the history of cybernetics and at the same time examines in innovative ways the complex ontological work they were doing. Pickering shows how 'ontology' is integrally about machines, materiality and philosophy-developing what I would call a theory of exploratory ontology., The Cybernetic Brain is a rich, ambitious, and highly original work-and a gently hopeful one. Pickering has really written two books in one. The first is a history of the work of several key British cyberneticians and its impact on subsequent scientific and cultural debates. The second is a quietly passionate critique of modernist ways of knowing and being and a plea for the reintroduction of the sorts of practice-based, adaptable, techno-social modes common to cybernetic inquiry. Pickering weaves the analysis and the advocacy together across the book, and his vision of what a non-modern world might look like-or in fact, has looked like-is novel and compelling and will substantially extend our understanding of contemporary technoculture., "What a lovely book this is-it tells a great story from the history of cybernetics and at the same time examines in innovative ways the complex ontological work they were doing. Pickering shows how 'ontology' is integrally about machines, materiality and philosophy-developing what I would call a theory of exploratory ontology."-Geoffrey C. Bowker, University of Pittsburgh, "The Cybernetic Brain is a rich, ambitious, and highly original work-and a gently hopeful one. Pickering has really written two books in one. The first is a history of the work of several key British cyberneticians and its impact on subsequent scientific and cultural debates. The second is a quietly passionate critique of modernist ways of knowing and being and a plea for the reintroduction of the sorts of practice-based, adaptable, techno-social modes common to cybernetic inquiry. Pickering weaves the analysis and the advocacy together across the book, and his vision of what a non-modern world might look like-or in fact, has looked like-is novel and compelling and will substantially extend our understanding of contemporary technoculture."-Fred Turner, Stanford University
Dewey Edition22
TitleLeadingThe
IllustratedYes
Dewey Decimal003/.5
Table Of ContentAcknowledgments 1. The Adaptive Brain 2. Ontological Theater PART 1: PSYCHIATRY TO CYBERNETICS 3. Grey Walter: From Electroshock to the Psychedelic Sixties THE TORTOISE AND THE BRAIN TORTOISE ONTOLOGY TORTOISES AS NOT-BRAINS THE SOCIAL BASIS OF CYBERNETICS RODNEY BROOKS AND ROBOTICS CORA AND MACHINA DOCILIS CYBERNETICS AND MADNESS STRANGE PERFORMANCES FLICKER FLICKER AND THE SIXTIES BIOFEEDBACK AND NEW MUSIC 4. Ross Ashby: Psychiatry, Synthetic Brains, and Cybernetics THE PATHOLOGICAL BRAIN ASHBY'S HOBBY THE HOMEOSTAT THE HOMEOSTAT AS ONTOLOGICAL THEATER THE SOCIAL BASIS OF ASHBY'S CYBERNETICS DESIGN FOR A BRAIN DAMS MADNESS REVISITED ADAPTATION, WAR, AND SOCIETY CYBERNETICS AS A THEORY OF EVERYTHING CYBERNETICS AND EPISTEMOLOGY A NEW KIND OF SCIENCE: ALEXANDER, KAUFFMAN, AND WOLFRAM 5. Gregory Bateson and R. D. Laing: Symmetry, Psychiatry, and the Sixties GREGORY BATESON SCHIZOPHRENIA AND ENLIGHTENMENT THERAPY AS NOMAD R. D. LAING ON THERAPY KINGSLEY HALL ARCHWAY COUPLED BECOMINGS, INNER VOYAGES, AFTERMATH PSYCHIATRY AND THE SIXTIES ONTOLOGY, POWER, AND REVEALING PART 2: BEYOND THE BRAIN 6. Stafford Beer: From the Cybernetic Factory to Tantric Yoga FROM OPERATIONS RESEARCH TO CYBERNETICS TOWARD THE CYBERNETIC FACTORY BIOLOGICAL COMPUTING ONTOLOGY AND DESIGN THE SOCIAL BASIS OF BEER'S CYBERNETICS THE AFTERLIFE OF BIOLOGICAL COMPUTING THE VIABLE SYSTEM MODEL THE VSM AS ONTOLOGY AND EPISTEMOLOGY THE VSM IN PRACTICE CHILE: PROJECT CYBERSYN THE POLITICS OF THE VSM THE POLITICAL CRITIQUE OF CYBERNETICS ON GOALS THE POLITICS OF INTERACTING SYSTEMS TEAM SYNTEGRITY CYBERNETICS AND SPIRITUALITY HYLOZOISM TANTRISM BRIAN ENO AND NEW MUSIC 7. Gordon Pask: From Chemical Computers to Adaptive Archictecture MUSICOLOUR THE HISTORY OF MUSICOLOUR MUSICOLOUR AND ONTOLOGY ONTOLOGY AND AESTHETICS THE SOCIAL BASIS OF PASK'S CYBERNETICS TRAINING MACHINES TEACHING MACHINES CHEMICAL COMPUTERS THREADS NEW SENSES THE EPISTEMOLOGY OF CYBERNETIC RESEARCH CAS, SOCIAL SCIENCE, AND F-22S THE ARTS AND THE SIXTIES CYBERNETIC THEATER CYBERNETIC SERENDIPITY THE SOCIAL BASIS AGAIN THE FUN PALACE AFTER THE SIXTIES: ADAPTIVE ARCHITECTURE 8: Sketches of Another Future THEMES FROM THE HISTORY OF CYBERNETICS ONTOLOGY DESIGN POWER THE ARTS SELVES SPIRITUALITY THE SIXTIES ALTERED STATES THE SOCIAL BASIS SKETCHES OF ANOTHER FUTURE Notes References Index
SynopsisCybernetics is often thought of as a grim military or industrial science of control. But as Andrew Pickering reveals in this beguiling book, a much more lively and experimental strain of cybernetics can be traced from the 1940s to the present. 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. And thus, Pickering avers, the history of cybernetics provides us with an imaginative model of open-ended experimentation in stark opposition to the modern urge to achieve domination over nature and each other.
LC Classification NumberQ310.P53 2009
