ABSTRACT
Cybernetics was inaugurated in the 1940s expressly as a field of interdisciplinary research, in reaction to the specialization that already had begun to encumber the established sciences. Chief among the disciplines initially involved were mathematics (represented by N.Wiener, the leader of the movement), neurophysiology (W.Cannon, A.Rosenbleuth, later W.McCulloch), and control engineering (J.Bigelow). The interdisciplinary base of the group was soon expanded to include mathematical logic (W.H.Pitts), automaton theory (J.von Neumann), psychology (K.Lewin) and socioeconomics (O.Morgenstern). While activities of the group at first were centred around Harvard and MIT, its subsequent expansion led to several meetings at other locations along the northeastern seaboard. Notable among these was a conference on teleology and purpose held in New York in 1942 under the auspices of the Josiah Macy Foundation (followed by other meetings under those auspices resuming in 1946), and a meeting on the design of computing machinery held in Princeton in 1944. The role of these early meetings was like that of a community forum, allowing participants to share insights into common problems and jointly to explore novel means of resolution.
