Norbert Wiener

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An American mathematician who founded cybernetics, the study of how machines and animals control and share information

proper noun
/ˈnɔrbərt ˈwiːnər/

: Norbert Wiener

Norbert Wiener made pioneering contributions to the development of cybernetics in the mid-20th century.

Examples

The legacy of Norbert Wiener continues to influence robotics and systems theory today.
Many concepts in information theory owe their origins to the work of Norbert Wiener.
Norbert Wiener was a genius.
What did Norbert Wiener contribute?
Norbert Wiener is widely regarded as the founder of cybernetics, a field that explores the interactions between living organisms and machines.
The ideas put forward by Norbert Wiener transformed how we understand communication in both technology and biological systems.
In his groundbreaking book, Norbert Wiener discussed the principles of feedback and control in complex systems.

Surface Forms

Norbert Wiener main

Morphology

Norbert + Wiener

This is a proper name referring to a specific historical person; the constituent tokens 'Norbert' and 'Wiener' do not carry dictionary meanings that would allow a learner to infer he was a mathematician or founder of cybernetics. Proper nouns are idiosyncratic and require world-knowledge or prior exposure, so the meaning is not derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Norbert Wiener was an American mathematician who imagined watching a dog and a machine and seeing the same kind of messages and control. Because he started this study, often called 'cybernetics', his name now stands for ideas about control and communication in machines and living things.