W. Ross Ashby

W. Ross Ashby
W. Ross Ashby (1948)
Born(1903-09-06)6 September 1903
London, England
Died15 November 1972(1972-11-15) (aged 69)
Known forCybernetics, Law of Requisite Variety, Principle of Self-organization
Scientific career
FieldsPsychiatry, Cybernetics, Systems theory
Signature

William Ross Ashby (6 September 1903 – 15 November 1972) was an English psychiatrist and a pioneer in cybernetics, the study of the science of communications and automatic control systems in both machines and living things. His first name was not used: he was known as Ross Ashby.[1]: 91 

His two books, Design for a Brain and An Introduction to Cybernetics, introduced exact and logical thinking into the brand new discipline of cybernetics and were highly influential.[1]: 93  These "missionary works" along with his technical contributions made Ashby "the major theoretician of cybernetics after Wiener".[2][3]: 28 

  1. ^ a b Pickering, Andrew (2010). The Cybernetic Brain. London: University of Chicago Press.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lilienfeld Systems was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Klir Architecture was invoked but never defined (see the help page).