The History of Cybernetics

 

         As it is known, the first artificial automatic regulatory system, a water clock, was invented by the mechanic Ktesibios (2-1 century BC) from ancient Greece. In his water clocks water flowed from a source such as a holding tank into a reservoir, then from the reservoir to the mechanisms of the clock. The device used a cone shaped float to monitor the level of the water in its reservoir and adjust the rate of flow of the water accordingly to maintain a constant level of water in the reservoir, so that it neither overflowed nor was allowed to run dry. This was the first artificial truly automatic self-regulatory device that required no outside intervention between the feedback and the control of the mechanism.

         The word cybernetics was first used in the context of self-governance by Plato (428-348 BC) in the Laws to signify the governance of people. In 1834 Andre Marie Ampere, the French physicist and mathematician, systematized the human knowledge of that time under different numbers. Under number 83 he listed a science that was to deal with the methods of regulating society. Ampere termed this science “cybernetics” from the Greek word “kubernetes” meaning “steersman” or “pilot”. This literal translation embodies much of the modern relevance of the cybernetics principles.

         After Ampere, however, the term “cybernetic” was forgotten until it appeared again in 1948 in a book of the well-known American mathematician Norbert Wiener (1894-1964). His book was entitled “Cybernetics or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine” The name ‘cybernetics’ was coined by N. Wiener to denote the study of “teleological mechanisms”, that is machines with corrective feedback. Wiener was part of a group of very brainy people of various specialties – psychology, mathematics, sociology, philosophy, knowledge management. So, the modern study of cybernetics began at the intersection of neurology, electronic network theory and logic modeling. Wiener popularized the social implications of cybernetics, drawing analogies between automatic systems such as a regulated steam engine and human institutions. The laws described by N. Wiener as the basis if cybernetics greatly interested scientists of many specialties.

         The foundations of cybernetics were laid and its basic principles were formulated in the works of mathematicians, physicists, physicians and engineers. The works of American scientists Claude Shannon and John von Neumann were of outstanding importance.

         Thus, the study of control and response to complex systems has been keeping great minds busy for thousands of years, and Wiener seems to be regarded as the chief modern architect.

 

5. Answer the questions using the information from these texts:

1) When did the first automatic regulatory system appear? 2) How did Ktesibios’s system operate? 3) When was the word ‘cybernetics’ first used? 4) Who used it and how? 5) What kind of classification did Ampere do? 6) What does the word ‘cybernetics’ mean? 7) Who is considered to be the founder of cybernetics? 8) What did Wiener denote by the word ‘cybernetics’? 9) What sciences contributed to its development?

 

6. Translate and memorize the following word combinations:

The first artificial automatic regulatory system; a water clock; ancient Greece; a holding tank; to use a cone shaped float; to monitor the level of the water; to overflow; to run dry; self-regulatory device; to adjust the rate of flow of the water; accordingly; to maintain a constant level of water; to require no outside intervention; feedback; self-governance; to systemize the human knowledge; the methods of regulating society; to term the science; steersman; literal translation; to embody relevance of the cybernetics principles; very brainy people; knowledge management; intersection of sciences; electronic network theory; the social implications of cybernetics; to draw analogies; a regulated steam engine; to lay the foundation; to formulate the basic principles; to be of outstanding importance; control and response to complex systems; to keep great minds busy.

 

7. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the Complex Object:

1) We want the information to be measured in bits. 2) They supposed the system to be out of order. 3) They believe the data to be reliable. 4) I should likethis reaction to be repeated. 5) In this case we may suppose the chain of symbols to be endless. 6) The computing equipment enabled investigators to process the received data much quicker. 7) I have never heard anyone give so much interesting information in one report. 8) The students observed the liquid change. 9)Scientists make new electronic machines store information, handle calculations and even control production process.

 

8. Translate into English using the Complex Object:

1) М. Фарадей предполагал, что луч света меняет свою полярность, проходя через намагниченный кристалл. 2) Мы наблюдали, как работает этот прибор. 3) Ампер полагал, что ток течет от положительного полюса к отрицательному. 4) Теперь мы знаем, что тепло это форма энергии. 5) Я чувствую, что эта проблема – трудная. 6) Никто не ожидал, что он станет физиком. 7) Мы бы хотели, чтобы вы рассказали нам об автономном управлении. 8) Мы знаем, что Белл был учителем. 9) Никто не заметил, как двигатель остановился из-за того, что выключили ток.

 

9. Translate the following sentences paying attention to the Complex Subject:

1) The water seems to be boiling. 2) The new power plant is expected to have been put onto operation and it proved to be of great practical importance. 3) Coal is considered to be a valuable fuel. 4) The electrolytes appear to change greatly when the current passes through them. 5) Light and radio waves are saidto be of similar nature. 6) The application of this device is unlikely to give better results. 7) This new approach to the problem discussed appears to be the most satisfactory.

 

10. Translate into English using the Complex Subject:

1) Они, наверняка, уже проанализировали результаты эксперимента. 2) Чувствительность прибора оказалась слабой. (poor). 3) Сообщили, что оптический эквивалент транзистора уже изобрели. 4) Известно, что тела расширяются при нагревании. 5) Кажется, что это легкая задача. 6) Оказалось, что изменения температуры были вызваны (affect) работой компьютера. 7) Говорят, что пластик используется вместо металлов. 8) Мы, конечно, решим эти задачи. 9) Было обнаружено, что сопротивление ртутного провода исчезает при охлаждении до - 269°С. 10) Он, наверное, не понимает это правило. 11) Вряд ли мы проведем этот эксперимент. 12) По-видимому, этот компьютер вышел из строя. 13) Они, вероятно, примут участие в конференции. 14) Он, кажется, изучил вопрос очень хорошо. 15) Несомненно, новый метод будет очень эффективным. 16) Оказывается, свойства этих металлов гораздо лучше.

 

11.Translate the following sentences:

1) It is very good for this engine to have been repaired before the experiment began. 2) This is a good possibility for us to utilize the electronic equipment for speeding up the process of calculation. 3) It required some more experiments for the engineers to prove the precision of the results obtained. 4) It was for our engineer to decide what kind of computer to utilize for such calculations. 5) Much more heat is required for the water to boil than for the needle to becomewhite-hot. 6) Electromotive force is necessary for the current to flow along the circuit.

 

12. Translate into English:

1) Мы ожидали, пока установят новое оборудование. 2) Необходимо огромное количество энергии для того, чтобы эта реакция произошла. 3) Для того, чтобы этот процесс произошел, температура должна быть очень высокой. 4) Нам очень трудно получить эту информацию.

 

13. Memorize the words:

behavioral responses – поведенческий отклик (реакция)

self-determination – самоопределение

principles of regulating and responding – принцип регулирования и реакции

the way we relate to our world – то, как мы соотносимся с нашим миром

tolerance and variety of responses – допуск и разнообразие откликов

the subject matter – предмет (кибернетики)

the controlled object – объект управления

feed-forward and feedback – прямая и обратная связь

the applied cybernetics – прикладная кибернетика

power supply – источник питания

 

14. Read the text and say what the science cybernetics studies: