What is Cybernetics?


Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the Structure of Regulatory system. Cybernetics is closely related to control theory and systems theory. Both in its origins and in its evolution in the second-half of the 20th century, cybernetics is equally applicable to physical and social (that is, language-based) systems.

Contemporary cybernetics began as an interdisciplinary study connecting the fields of control systems, electrical network theory, mechanical engineering, logic modeling, evolutionary biology, neuroscience, anthropology, and psychology in the 1940s, often attributed to the Macy Conferences.

Other fields of study which have influenced or been influenced by cybernetics include game theory, system theory (a mathematical counterpart to cybernetics), psychology(especially neuropsychology, behavioral psychology, cognitive psychology, philosophy, and architecture.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Biocybernetics

Biocybernetics is the application of cybernetics to the biological science, comprised of biological disciplines that benefit from the application of cybernetics: neurology, multicellular systems and others. Biocybernetics plays a major role in systems biology, seeking to integrate different levels of information to understand how biological systems function.

Biocybernetics as an abstract science is a part of theoretical biology, and based upon the principles of systemics.



Terminology

Biocybernetics is a cojoined word from bio (Greek: βίο / life) and cybernetics (Greek: κυβερνητική / controlling-governing). It is sometimes written together or with a blank or written fully as biological cybernetics, whilst the same rules apply. Most write it together though, as Google statistics show. The same applies to neuro cybernetics which should also be looked up as neurological, when doing extensive research.

Same or familiar fields

As those disciplines are dealing on theoretical/abstract foundations and are in accordance with the popularity of computers. Thus papers and research is in greater numbers going on under different names: e.g. molecular cybernetics -> molecular computational systems OR molecular systems theory OR molecular systemics OR molecular information/informational systems

Please heed this when you engage in an extensive search for information to assure access to a broad range of papers.


Categories

  • biocybernetics - the study of an entire living organism
  • neurocybernetics - cybernetics dealing with neurological models. (psycho-cybernetics was the title of a self-help book, and is not a scientific discipline)
  • molecular cybernetics - cybernetics dealing with molecular systems (e.g. molecular biology cybernetics)
  • cellular cybernetics - cybernetics dealing with cellular systems (e.g. information technology/cell phones,.. or biological cells)
  • evolutionary cybernetics - study of the evolution of informational systems (See also evolutionary programming, evolutionary algorithm)
  • any distinct informational system within the realm of biology
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