Definition

1. Noun:
   • The scientific study of communication and control processes in living organisms and machines: "Cybernetics" is an interdisciplinary field concerned with understanding how systems—whether biological, mechanical, or social—regulate themselves, process information, and adapt to their environments through feedback loops.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The development of advanced robotics relies heavily on principles from cybernetics.
  • Her research in cybernetics explores the parallels between neural networks in the brain and computer algorithms.

Advanced Usage

• "Second-order cybernetics": A branch that incorporates the observer into the system being studied, emphasizing self-reference and the role of the scientist in constructing models.
  • His thesis applied second-order cybernetics to analyze therapist-client interactions.

Variants and Related Words

• Cybernetical (adj): Pertaining to cybernetics. (Rarely used; "cybernetic" is standard).
• Cybernetic (adj): Of or relating to cybernetics.
  • The device uses a sophisticated cybernetic control system.
• Cyberneticist (n): A specialist in cybernetics.

Synonyms

• Control theory: A closely related engineering and mathematical discipline focusing on the behavior of dynamical systems.
• Systems theory: A broader interdisciplinary study of systems in nature, society, and science.

Related Phrases

• "Cybernetic loop": A complete cycle of action, feedback, and adjustment within a system.
  • The thermostat maintains room temperature through a simple cybernetic loop.

Related Idioms

Noun

1. (biology) the field of science concerned with processes of communication and control (especially the comparison of these processes in biological and artificial systems)