Invention: The Care and Feeding of Ideas by Norbert Wiener

by Norbert Wiener

Internationally honored for brilliant achievements throughout his career, Norbert Wiener (1894-1964), Institute Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, was an insightful observer of the role of science in society. This book, written in 1954 but only now published for the first time, can be read as a salutary critique of events in science that Wiener accurately predicted and a chance to rethink the components of a social and political climate that encourages inventiveness.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Science

Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Norbert Wiener was an American mathematician and philosopher. He was Professor of Mathematics at MIT. Wiener is considered the father of cybernetics, a formalization of the notion of feedback, with implications for engineering, systems control, computer science, biology, philosophy, and the organization of society.

Reviews

[Gail Kennon]

even though i know much of what he said went over my head i still found his thoughts thrilling and really liked the time spent with him.

[John]

Excellent synopsis of Wiener's thinking; reconstructed from notes he left behind and some initial attempts at this book. Published in memoriam by MIT.