Norbert Wiener (November 26, 1894 – March 18, 1964) was a U.S. mathematician and applied mathematician, especially in the field of electronics engineering. He was a pioneer in the study of stochastic processes (random processes) and noise processes, especially in the field of electronic communication systems and control systems. He is known as the founder of cybernetics. He coined the term "cybernetics" in his book Cybernetics or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine (MIT Press, 1948), widely recognized as one of the most important books of contemporary scientific thinking. He is also considered by some to be the first American-born-and-trained mathematician on an intellectual par with the traditional bastions of mathematical learning in Europe. (Others give this honor to George David Birkhoff, who came a decade earlier.) He thus represents a watershed period in American mathematics. Wiener did much valuable work in defense systems for the United States, particularly during World War II and the Cold War.

Biography

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Norbert Wiener was born in Columbia, Missouri, the first child of Leo Wiener, a Polish-Jewish immigrant, and Bertha Kahn, from a German-Jewish family. Leo was an instructor in Slavic Languages at Harvard who used his own experimental high-pressure methods to educate Norbert at home until he was seven; he entered school only briefly before resuming the majority of his studies at home. Between his father's tutelage and his own abilities, Wiener became a child prodigy. In 1903 he returned to school, graduating from Ayer High School in 1906.

In September 1906, aged eleven, he entered Tufts College to study mathematics. He received his bachelor's degree from Tufts in 1909 at the age of fourteen and entered Harvard. At Harvard he studied zoology, but in 1910 he transferred to Cornell to begin graduate studies in philosophy. The next year he returned to Harvard, while still continuing his philosophical studies. Wiener received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1912 at age of 18, for a dissertation on mathematical logic.

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Had lunch at The Gage (yum) with the commissioner of NASCAR. Verifies that my grandfather used to beat norbert wiener at chess.
MaxMillion (Elliot Pinkus) Sun, 03 Jan 2010 22:01:41 -0000
Had lunch at The Gage (yum) with the commissioner of NASCAR. Verifies that my grandfather used to beat norbert wiener at chess.
Norbert Wiener, Kybernetik and my foot http://post.ly/H6nJ #cybernetics
guttertec (Axel Quack) Sun, 03 Jan 2010 21:48:56 -0000
Norbert Wiener, Kybernetik and my foot http://post.ly/H6nJ #cybernetics
I think I need to understand cybernetics a lot more than I do right now. Recommendations? Start with Norbert Wiener?
Kevindonovan (Kevin Donovan) Sat, 02 Jan 2010 21:38:24 -0000
I think I need to understand cybernetics a lot more than I do right now. Recommendations? Start with Norbert Wiener?
"Amarse a si mismo es el comienzo de una aventura que dura toda la vida". - Norbert Wiener
jjnavarrete (Juan Jose Navarrete) Sat, 02 Jan 2010 18:01:22 -0000
"Amarse a si mismo es el comienzo de una aventura que dura toda la vida". - Norbert Wiener
"A veces podemos pasarnos años sin vivir en absoluto, y de pronto toda nuestra vida se concentra en un solo instante". - Norbert Wiener
jjnavarrete (Juan Jose Navarrete) Sat, 02 Jan 2010 17:52:40 -0000
"A veces podemos pasarnos años sin vivir en absoluto, y de pronto toda nuestra vida se concentra en un solo instante". - Norbert Wiener
"The HUMAN use of human beings." Norbert Wiener http://bit.ly/KioD8
bookofjoe (bookofjoe) Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:01:02 -0000
"The HUMAN use of human beings." Norbert Wiener http://bit.ly/KioD8

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