Cybernetics
The Anthropocene Project. An Encyclopedia
When exactly must a projectile take off in order to reach a flying target in the air? And how could a composite consisting of a flying machine, pilot, and cloud formation react to such a shot from the ground? What sounds like a computer game is an early scene from cybernetics: to improve air defense, thinking in closed loops began during the Second World War. Cybernetics is about the control of systems where almost everything can become part of a system: the social, the organic, the mechanical, the cognitive. The role of the elements in a cycle, not their respective essence, is here of interest. Regulation stands in the foreground, whether economic or computer control, everything has a purpose in this functioning cycle, chance is replaced by algorithms, optimization and efficiency in all conceivable realms. Easy, frictionless… Whether cybernetics is seen as a science of war or neutrally as a holistic form of thought dedicated to functioning, cybernetic models were an important resource for the Californian counterculture, an inspiration for computer technology, enabling climate models and other models for linking man and technology.
More information in the media section
HKW Talk on the Anthropocene. With Anselm Franke, Min. 8.40
HKW Talk on the Anthropocene. With Erich Hörl on the Whole Earth Conference, Min. 15.30
HKW Talk on the Anthropocene. With Diedrich Diederichsen, Min. 14.33
HKW Talk on the Anthropocene. With Fred Turner, Min. 4.95
External links for further reading
Blog-Beitrag The Whole Earth – in Stücken. „Das Ende der Philosophie?“ (German)
Blog-Beitrag The Whole Earth – in Stücken. „Im Heimatdorf der Netzgemeinde“ (German)
Blog-Beitrag The Whole Earth – in Stücken. „Von der Gegenkultur zur Netzkultur“ (German)
