Cybernetics is a term rooted in the Greek word “kybernetes,” meaning “steersman.” Introduced by Norbert Wiener in 1948, it is defined as the science of “control and communication in the animal and the machine.” Stafford Beer later referred to cybernetics as the science of effective organization.
The cybernetic approach differs from traditional science because it focuses on studying the behaviour of wholes and parts in interaction rather than parts in isolation.
In essence, cybernetics is an interdisciplinary study of how systems – biological, mechanical, or social – communicate, control, and regulate themselves. Its ideas have significantly influenced our understanding of complex systems and their behaviours.