Dictionary

cybernetics en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌsaɪ.bə(ɹ)ˈnɛ.tɪks/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Ancient Greek κυβερνήτης (kubernḗtēs, “steersman”), from κυβερνάω (kubernáō, “to steer, drive, guide, act as a pilot”) (whence English govern). The term is attested since at least 1948 in the book Cybernetics by Norbert Wiener, influenced by the cognate term and doublet governor, the name of an early control device proposed by James Clerk Maxwell in 1868. Note also the 1830s French cybernétique (“the art of governing”). Also doublet of Kubernetes.

Meanings

1. (uncountable) The theory/science of communication and control in living organisms or machines.
   • Chasing and fleeing, though, are not just sequences of muscle contractions—they are goal-directed. Chasing may consist of running or climbing or leaping or ambushing, depending on the circumstances, as long as it increases the chances of snagging the prey; fleeing may include hiding or freezing or zigzagging. And that brings up another momentous 20th-century idea, sometimes called cybernetics, feedback, or control. The idea explains how a physical system can appear to be teleological, that is, directed by purposes or goals. All it needs are a way of sensing the state of itself and its environment, a representation of a goal state (what it “wants,” what it’s “trying for”), an ability to compute the difference between the current state and the goal state, and a repertoire of actions that are tagged with their typical effects. If the system is wired so that it triggers actions that typically reduce the difference between the current state and the goal state, it can be said to pursue goals (and when the world is sufficiently predictable, it will attain them). The principle was discovered by natural selection in the form of homeostasis, as when our bodies regulate their temperature by shivering and sweating. When it was discovered by humans, it was engineered into analog systems like thermostats and cruise control and then into digital systems like chess-playing programs and autonomous robots. 2018, Steven Pinker, “Chapter 2: Entro, Evo, Info”, in Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress, Penguin, →ISBN:
   • Near-synonym: control theory (not consistently differentiated)
2. (uncountable) The art/study of governing, controlling automatic processes and communication.
3. (uncountable) Technology that is part of and controlled by a living organism (e.g. a cyborg); cybernetic or bionic technology such as prostheses.
   • […] he lost both of his arms and his jaw in a previous fight and had them replaced with cybernetics. 2015, manga by Koutarou Sekine, created by Bradley Bond and Philip N. Morzez, Ninja Slayer Kills, volume 1, page 189
   • As they approached, a hulking figure stepped out of the shadows [... He] was heavily muscled, and had had his arms replaced with glittering chrome cybernetics. 2025, Kathryne Lentes, Sin Eaters (Apocrypha Book 1), chapter 2
4. (uncountable) Technology related to computers and the Internet.

Deriveds

biocybernetics · anthropocybernetics · neuro-cybernetics · second order cybernetics · neurocybernetics · technical cybernetics · neuro cybernetics · management cybernetics · sociocybernetics · quantum cybernetics

Relateds

cybernetician · cybernetic · cyborg · cyberneticist · Kubernetes · information theory · cybernetically · decision theory · cyber- · cybercafe · governor · connectionism · cyberpunk · cyberspace · cyber · systems science · governance

Synonyms

control theory

Translations (98)

sq kibernetikë (science of communication and control) · pl cybernetyka (the art/study of controling) · ms sibernetik (science of communication and control) · sh кибернѐтика (science of communication and control) · ky кибернетика (science of communication and control) · ka კიბერნეტიკა (science of communication and control) · ru киберне́тика (science of communication and control) · io cibernetiko (science of communication and control) · pl cybernetyka (science of communication and control) · io cibernetiko (the art/study of controling) · hi संतांत्रिकी (science of communication and control) · et küberneetika (science of communication and control) · ja 人工頭脳 (science of communication and control) · nb kybernetikk (science of communication and control) · lv kibernētika (science of communication and control) · sk kybernetika (science of communication and control) · fa سیبرنتیک (science of communication and control) · ko 인공두뇌학 (science of communication and control) · kmr sîbernetîk (science of communication and control) · sh kibernètika (science of communication and control) · it cibernetica (the art/study of controling) · hu kibernetika (science of communication and control) · az kibernetika (science of communication and control) · ar سَبْرَانِيَّة (science of communication and control) · fr informatique (technology related to computers) · az kibernetika (technology related to computers) · th ไซเบอร์เนติกส์ (science of communication and control) · sv reglerteknik (science of communication and control) · hi साइबरनेटिक्स (science of communication and control) · ru киберне́тика (technology related to computers) · nl cybernetika (science of communication and control) · fr cybernétique (the art/study of controling) · mn кибернетик (science of communication and control) · es cibernética (technology related to computers) · az kibernetika (the art/study of controling) · nl stuurkunde (science of communication and control) · ur سائبرنیٹکس (science of communication and control) · la cybernetica (science of communication and control) · pt cibernética (science of communication and control) · eo kibernetiko (technology related to computers) · uz kibernetika (science of communication and control) · sv cybernetik (science of communication and control) · be кіберне́тыка (science of communication and control) · cmn 控制論 /控制论 (science of communication and control) · sv reglerteknik (the art/study of controling) · es cibernética (science of communication and control) · it cibernetica (science of communication and control) · hy կիբեռնետիկա (science of communication and control) · vi điều khiển học (science of communication and control) · cmn 模控學 /模控学 (science of communication and control) · pt cibernética (technology related to computers) · eo cibernetiko (technology related to computers) · fi kybernetiikka (science of communication and control) · de Kybernetik (science of communication and control) · fi automaatiotutkimus (the art/study of controling) · ro cibernetică (science of communication and control) · ru киберне́тика (the art/study of controling) · el κυβερνητική (science of communication and control) · fr cybernétique (science of communication and control) · sv datavetenskap (technology related to computers) · io cibernetiko (technology related to computers) · pt cibernética (the art/study of controling) · ka კიბერნეტიკა (technology related to computers) · fi tietotekniikka (technology related to computers) · uk кіберне́тика (science of communication and control) · tg кибернетика (science of communication and control) · is stýrifræði (science of communication and control) · sv kybernetik (science of communication and control) · es cibernética (the art/study of controling) · bg киберне́тика (science of communication and control) · eo kibernetiko (science of communication and control) · tk kibernetika (science of communication and control) · be кібэрнэ́тыка (science of communication and control) · kk кибернетика (science of communication and control) · nl stuurkunde (the art/study of controling) · ja サイバネティックス (science of communication and control) · eo cibernetiko (science of communication and control) · nl cybernetica (science of communication and control) · mn залуур зүй (science of communication and control) · ba кибернетика (science of communication and control) · id sibernetika (science of communication and control) · pl cybernetyka (technology related to computers) · cmn 電腦技術 /电脑技术 (technology related to computers) · el ψηφιοκυβερνητική (science of communication and control) · eo kibernetiko (the art/study of controling) · ka კიბერნეტიკა (the art/study of controling) · sl kibernetika (science of communication and control) · mk кибернетика (science of communication and control) · he קִיבֶּרְנֶטִיקָה (science of communication and control) · nl cybertechnologie (technology related to computers) · lt kibernetika (science of communication and control) · cmn 控制論 /控制论 (the art/study of controling) · cs kybernetika (science of communication and control) · sv datateknik (technology related to computers) · sv kybernetik (technology related to computers) · ca cibernètica (science of communication and control) · eo cibernetiko (the art/study of controling) · da kybernetik (science of communication and control)

wikipedia: Norbert Wiener · wikipedia: James Clerk Maxwell · wikipedia: Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine