Cybernetics

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/cybernetics

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the key principles?Feedback, information theory, control systems, self-organization, and adaptation
2. What is the related scientific disciplines?Artificial intelligence, robotics, neuroscience, computer science, systems theory, engineering, and biology
3. How does feedback help machines learn?Feedback is when a machine checks what it did and uses that information to change its next move. This lets the machine improve and adapt over time.
4. Who started the study of cybernetics?In the 1940s, scientists like Norbert Wiener, Arturo Rosenblueth, and Julian Bigelow noticed similarities between nerves and machines. They met at the Macy Conferences to share ideas.

Autopoiesis: The capacity of a system to produce and maintain itself, often used in biological and social system theory.
Second-Order Cybernetics: A later development that includes the observer as part of the system being studied.
Viability: The capacity of a system to maintain its identity and structure in the face of environmental changes.