RD-RI51 874 GORDON CONFERENCE ON FUNDAMENTALS OF CYBERNETICS(U) /GORDON RESEARCH CONFERENCES INC L STEG 31 OCT 84

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StCURIIF CLASSIFICATION Of THIS P&CL (141-1. Date r",e.-- ____________________

REPOR DOCUENTATON PAE ~ .READ INSTRUCTIONS -. <_RRD UN I P__ _GE_ rBEFORE CO..PLETING FORM '-,

1. REPORT NUMBER 1.O~VY ACCESSION NO. 3. RECIPIENT*$ CATALOG NUMBE?

4. TITLE (end Subtitle) 5. TYPE OF REPORT & PERIOD COVERED

Final Report: 1 Aug 84-Gordon Conference on Fundamentals of 31Oct84Cybernetics S. PERFORMING ORG. REPORT NUMBER

7. AUTHOR(a) S. CONTRACT OR GRANT NUMBER( .

Leo Steg NO004-84-G-0128

9. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS 10. PROGRAM ELEMENT. PROJECT, TASKAREA & WORK UNIT NUMBERSGordon Research Center 61153N 42; RR04209;

University of Rhode Island RR0420902; NR 197-082;Kingston, RI 02881 DOC 0 N6822IR4 RC4Rn: :

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Office of Naval Research (Code 442) 31 Oct 1984800 N. Quincy Street 1S. NUMBER OF PAGES

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'' Approved for public release; distribution unlimited.

""17, DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT (of the aebtrecl nterd Inf Block 20. It different from Report) %! .::: Same as above

It. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

1. KEY WORDS (Continue on reverse side It necessary and Identify by block number)

Cybernetics; language,. understanding & hermeneutics; transactions in smallsystems; logic and language of expert systems; information In economicactivity; methodology in decision-making and policy formulation.-

20. ABSTRACT (Continue on ,eve,ee aide i necessary ad Identify by block nu.ber)

---,,;,A conference was organized that brought together 110 research scientists ofC= diverse specialities to address a comprehensive review of the relationship of

* F cybernetics to relevant disciplinep, including biochemistry, physiology,chemistry & information sciendes, and to relevant conceptual areas, includinginteractive training, organizational autonomy, and policy methodology.

DD • 1473 EDITioN OF I NOV 6S IS OBSOLETE

S/N 0102 LF-014-6601 SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF THIS PAGE (7.tn eloe Ento ote

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FUNDAMENTALS OF CYBERNETICS -

Cybernetics has been defined in many ways since the word was coined in 1950as meaning "communication and control in the machine and animal (man)" byNorbert Wiener, a famous mathematician.

When combined with some of the less well known ideas from General SystemsTheory (i.e. the General Theory of Systems) by Von Bertalanffy, a famousbiologist, at about the same time and with the work of a few others after-wards, more descriptive definitions would now include:

o The science of the relationship between people, machines andorganizations.

" The expert generalist's approach to his life and the world.

o The bridge between philosophy and science.

A new program for rigorously handling problems outside the scope ofscientific methodology.

o Codifying the "experience" that good high level mangers say they havegained through the years in trying to get organizations and people tofunction well together.

Nevertheless, Cybernetics being what i' is, the applications are certainlythere. That is, the road ahead for this fledgling science with its heavy claimas a brand new way to look at the complexities of the world and the peopleinterrelating in it, is bound to be strewn with many new insights amongst thetwists and turns.

In view of the above and in the interest of succinctness, I will attempt to

list observations to you from the various sessions that are interpreted for

applications without elaboration or defending logic. Obviously, this is my own -

perception and interpretation and there would be many others from others at theconference. This in itself is Cybernetic; but at this level of generality. Ibelieve my comments could be useful to you on a day-to-day basis because of thecommon characteristics of our backgrounds. Anyone wanting to pursue thesepoints further should contact me and I will attempt to explain further and givereferences.

1. Session 1 was supposed to cover fundamentals but was really more orientedto the latest theoretical thinking and distinctions. Particularly, it focused

on second order Cybernetics (i.e., the nature of the observer) and delved intothings like the Characteristics of the relationships and operations betweenself, paradigm, and one's activities. Information/understanding, selforganization, regulation (in a broader sense), requisite variety, etc. werealso covered. 0-

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Application: It is generally accepted and demonstrated in Cybernetics

that not only do viewpoints and deep value systems vary, but that the"facts" are shaped (even created) to fit one's particular paradigm. Thus,the Cybernetician does not say, "This person is not acting rationallybased on the facts." Rather, he attempts to find out the value system/paradigm that..this person is operating with in order to understand whatthe person sees as "facts" and his appropriate resulting action. Onlyafter he thinks he understands this does the Cybernetician make judgmentsand try to build understandings between his and other person's paradigmand actions.

2. Session 2 was more second order Cybernetics and got into things likeautonomy, objectivity/subjectivity, and the operations of the self Invarious contexts and distinctions.

Application: People operate on the basis of the coherence of theirdistinctions and this is represented by their memory (and I believe theirconditioning), not some physical manifestations.

3. Session 3 related some of these second order concepts to language and4understanding and got into things like the common contexts of languagearound which meaning occurs.

Application: Understanding with another is never having exactly the samepattern and basis. It is a best fit of some type. As a corollary, knowingthe language Involved Is not necessarily helpful to this best fit, butIt may help in the process of trying to understanding.

4. Session 4 was the first one which demonstrated how Cybernetics had actuallybeen used In computerized learning systems for disadvantaged children andwith family therapy work by psychologists. (Although some got Into achicken/egg argument about the relationship between the topics andCybernetics. i.e.,Were they really putting a Cybernetic label on thingsthat had developed by other means?)

Applications: The patterns that connect are the essence of learning.

5. Session 5 got into artificial intelligence and the Cybernetics of theapproaches being used. Examples In robotics and used of conversationtheory for decisioning in complex situations was described. (The latter "7approach will be one of the key tools used In the R&D project on cognitiveprocesses, recently launched as an adjunct to the Detailed Control RoomDesign Review for NMP-1.)

Application: When zeroing in on some specific objective or "bullseye"the aim is not some linear progression of formulation but a matter ofidentifying the appropriate constraints to stay within while progressing.

-0 -6. Session 6 was a discussion of the characteristics of information relativeto knowledge, and, together, their impact on economics (as seen by a manwho described and practices economic modeling).

2

Application: Managers of economics (and organizations in general) are.locked into or constrained by the information sources and the

characteristics that they have. In fact, economics (and organizations)can be more fundamentally described and characterized by their informationflows (i.e., How they handle it and not just its content).

, 7. Session 7 was the most applicable, relative to the operation of organiza-tions, but was also the most controversial in focusing on the issue of thetheoretical approach to organizational modeling vs. the experimental ordata-based approach.

One of the speakers, Chris Argyris from Harvard, had collected data andinformation from organizations all over the world and built from it a modelthat was based on the gaps and misconceptions that exist or are createdbetween people's values, actions and consequences in dealing with eachother in organizational contexts. He shows that the results of thisdiscourage risk taking, leaves some important subjects In an"undiscussable" status, creates double binds, leads to self-fulfillingprophecies, etc.

Ian Mitroff from USC described a process of group consensus decision makingthat had been developed through much consulting experience for circumstanceswhere the subjects or questions involved are very judgmental and complex.Basically, it involved identification of appropriate stakeholders andrating or graphing their detailed concerns or strategy evaluations undervarious scenarios. It would be most useful in policy making or determiningmajor shifts in organizational direction.

Application:Potential applications out of those would be specific use oftheir approaches to particular cases. I will attempt to obtain publicationsof the details of their approaches, if anyone wants it. Some key aspects ofthe latter subject were developed in detail in a class on CyberneticMethodology that I took while at San Jose State University, and some ofthese will be used in the HEO/HED assessment program for the NHP-1 DCRDR.

8. Although no publications were handed out at the conference, a referenceshould be made to one relevant paper: Robb, F. F. (1984) Cybernetics inmanagement thinking. Systems Research, 1 (1), 5-23. It has some excellentdiscussions which help to fill in the many gaps between the theories andapplications. It elaborates in some of the areas discussed at theconference and covers others that I believe Cyberneticians in generalwould say are important to the operation of organizations.

Aeoession For-

OTIS GMA&# DTIC TAB

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Distribution/

Availability CodesAvail and/or

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GORDON RESEARCH CONFERENCE ON CYBERNETICS

Conference Chairman: Leo Steg, The Brookings Institution

Vice-Chairman: Heinz Von Foerster, University of Illinois (ret.)

Session 1. August 27Topic: Fundamentals--circularity, process,* variety, observation

Chairman: Larry Richards, Colby college, Maine

Principal Speakers:

1. Heinz Von Foerster, University of Illinois (ret.)

* 2. Humberto Maturana, University of Chile

3. Stuart Umpleby, George Washington University

Session 2. August 27Topic: Organization, Autonomy, and Autology

Chairman: Milan Zeleny, Fordham UniversityPrincipal Speakers: L

1. Francisco Varela, University of Chile2. Peter Hejl, University of Siegen, W.Germany3. Lars Lofgren, University of Lund, Sweden

Session 3. August 28Topic: Language, Understanding, and HermeneuticsChairman: Ernst von Glasersfeld, University of Georgia

Principal speakers:

1. Alton Becker, University of Michigan

2. Mark Bickhard, University of Texas

Session 4. August 28

Topic: Transaction and Interaction in Small Systems

Chairman: Fred Steier, Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic

Principal Speakers:1. Doreen Steg, Drexel University

2. Carlos Sluzki, San Francisco General Hospital

3. Paul Watzlawick, Mental Research Institute

Session 5. August 29

Topic: The Logic and Language of Expert Systems*. Chairman: Paul Pangaro, Pangaro Associates

Princip.al Speakers:1. Michael Arbib, University of Massachusetts.

2. Gordon Pask, Concordia University, Montreal

Session 6. August 29

Topic: The Role of Information in Economic Activity

hairmant Klaus Krippendorff, University of Pennsylvania

Principal Speakers:

1. Donald Lamberton, University of Queensland

2. Charles Jonscher, MIT

Session 7. August 30

Topic: Methodology in Decision-making and Policy Formulation

Chairman: John Steinbrunner, Brookings Institution '-...

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Principal Speakers:

1. Chris Argyris, Harvard University2. Ian Mitroff,. University of Southern California

Session 8. August 30Topic: Adaptation in Complex Genetic and Neural SystemsChairman: Stuart K.uffman. University of Pennsylvania

*" Principal Speakers:1. Eugene Yates, UCLA Crump Institute for Medical Research2. Stephen Grossberg, Boston University

Session 9. August 31Topic: Cybernetics and Chemistry

*' Chairman: Rudolph J. Marcus, Office of Naval Research- Principal Speakers:

1. Sam Perone, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory2. Ray Carhart, Lederle Laboratories

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GORDON RESEARCH COWERENCEON

FUNDAMENTALS OF CYBERNETICS"° AT

THE NEW HAMPTON SCHOOLAUG. 27 -31, 1984

Marianne Amaral DR03 Herbert Brun DR204National Institute of Education University of Illinois1200 19th Street, N.V. 1114 W. - NevadaWashington, D. C. 20008 Urbana, Illinois 61801

Saul Amarel DR003 Flynn Bucy EB202Rutgers University George Washington Univ.New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903 Washington, D. C. 22063

Alexandb.ksaftv BE304 Tyrone Cashman BE409Viable Systems College of St. BenedictSplatt Mill 3428 Fremont Ave. S.Chillaton, Lifton, DeVon, England PL1603B Minneapolis, Minnesota 55408

Alton Becker LE108 Martha Crampton VE103University of Michigan Holodynamics Inc.1091 Frieze/Linguistics 218 Blackrock Tpk. Redding Connecticut 06896Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109

Jon Cunnyngham BE210Naaman Belkind N0208 The Ohio State UniversityIsraeli Embassy 1775 College Road/Accounting3514 International Drive N.W. Columbus, Ohio 43210Washington, D. C. 20008

Cynthia Darling RU202Kirstie Bellman D0103 Brookings Institution

- Crump Inst. for Med. Engineering 1775 Massachusetts Ave. N.W.6417 Boelten Hall Washington, D. C. 20036UCLALos Angeles, California 90024 Lawrence deBivort BE202

Evolutionary Services InstituteJohn L. Benson Non-Resident 5504 Scioto RoadNiagara Mohawk Power Corp. Bethesda, Maryland 20816300 Erie Blvd. W.Syracuse, New York 13202 Anthony Debons LEll0

. University of Pittsburgh

Mark H. Bickhard VE104 School of Library and Information Science ". .University of Texas/Austin 136 N. Bellefield Ave.EDO 504 Pittsburgh, Penn. 15260 1.'

. Austin, Texas 78712Paul Dell LE106

Helene Barab Eastern Virginia Medical SchoolGuest of Mark H. Bickhard 205 Business Park Drive

Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462Alexander Blount BE206Crossroads Community Growth Center Stuart Donn BE306207 Elm Street Cornell UniversityHolyoke, Massachusetts 01040 Education Dept., Stone Hall

SIthaca, New York 14850

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Richard J. Feldann M0207 Jane Jorgenson Non-ResidentNational Institutes of Health University of Pennsylvania124/20008 Annenberg School of CommunicationsBethesda, Maryland 20205 Philadelphia, Penn. 19143

Daniel Giacomo LE120 Dionysius Kallikourdis BE306Philadelphia Child Guidance Clinic Kallikourdis & Associates34th and Civic Center Blvd. P.O. Box 17014 Kolonaki, 10024Philadelphia, Penn. 19104 Athens, Greece

Fred Giessler P1212 Aron J. Katsenelinboigen LE104Science Applications, Inc. Univ. of Pennsylvania1710 Goodridge Drive Social Systems Sciences Dept.P. 0. Box 1303 Vanee Hall, Spruce St. a 37th St.McLean, Virginia 22102 Philadelphia, Penn. 19104

Jeff Glassman P1204 Louis Kauffman LE114United Mime Workers Theater Co. University of Illinois .P. 0. Box 2088 Sta. A. Dept. of MathChampaign, Illinois 61820 Statistics and Computer Science

University of Illinois/ChicagoDik Gregory DR209 Chicago, Illinois 6068CU.S. Army Research InstitutePeri-SF, 5001 Eisenhower Ave. Michael Kelly BE201Alexandria, Virginia 22333 Systems Science, Watson School

SUNY-BinghamtonHeather Harney D0101 Binghamton, New York 13901Pangaro Incorporated800 Third Street, N.E. George F. Keyser EB204Washington, D. C. 20003 Howard University Engineering School

Elect. Engineering DepartmentPeter N. Hejl LE112 Howard UniversityFachbereich #3 Washington, D. C. 20059University of SiegenSiegen, West Germany Klaus Krippendorff DR208

University of Penn.Norman Hirst VE103 Communications C-5Holodynamics, Inc. Philadelphia, Penn. 19104218 Blackrock Tpk.Redding, Conn. 06896 Donald Lamberton DR309

University of QueenslandLynn Hoffman DO105 St. Lucia, Australia 4067Amherst Family Study CenterP. 0. Box 400 John W. Lannamann Non-ResidentNorth Amherst, Mass. 01059 University of New Hampshire

Dept. of Theater a CommunicationsErna S. Hoover RU201 Durham, New Hampshire 03824A. T&T Bell Labs.Whippany Road William Lax Non-ResidentWhippany, New Jersey 07981 Brattleboro Family Institute

11 Church PlaceRobert 2. Horn BE302 Brattleboro, Vermont 05301The Lexington Institute80 Marrett Road Victorina Lefebvre VEIl1Lexington, Mass. 02173 School of Social Sciences

University of California

Irvine, California 92717

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Vladimir Lefebvre VEll1 Maria Nowakowska D0103

'University of California Machine Intelligence Inst.

school of Social Sciences Iona College

Irvine, California New Rochelle, New York 10801

Allenna Leonard M0206 Mark Ozer EB201

ASC Veterans Administration SCI Service ..

University of Maryland 2301 Broad Rock Road

10270 Wilde Lake Terrace Richmond, Virginia 23249

Colubia,Maryland P l-aB 4SPaul Pangaro BE405 L..

Frank Leonard Pangaro Inc.

10270 Wilde Lake Terrace 800 3rd St. N.E.

Columbia, Maryland 21044 Washington, D. C. 20002

HaodLinstone BE408 Robert Parker BE414

Portland State University Defense Intelligence Agency

P. 0. Box 751 Central Intelligence AgencyPortland, Oregon 97207 OTE/CSI

Washington, D. C. 20505Charles Lipp DR304Gould Inc. Gordon Pask BE2031101 E. University Educational Technology ProgramUrbana, Illinois 61801 Concordia University

Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G iM,

Lars Lofgren BE402University of Lund Howard Pattee VE107Box 725 T. J. Watson School of EngineeringLund, Sweden S-22007 SUNY-Binghamton

Binghamton, New York 13901Humberto Maturana DR205University of Chile Mary Ellen PatteeIAC of Sciences - Guest of Howard PatteeCas illa 653Santiago, Chile Rolf Pixley LE102

200 E. Smith DriveSheila McNamee Non-Resident Claremont, California 91711University of New HampshireDept. of Communications Jean Ramaekers M0201Durham, New Hampshire 03824 International Association for Cybernetics

Place A. RyckmansMichael E. Melich BE202 Namur, Belgium B5000Nava1 Research LaboratoryCode 7570, 4555 Overlook Ave., S.W. Mrs. RamaekersWashington, D. C. 20375 Guest of Jean Ramaekers

David Mitchell E2203 Eva K. Ray D0107Concordia University Medical College of PennsylvaniaCentre for System Research 1222 Prospect Hill Road

' 1455 Boul. de Maisonnevre Villanova, Penn. 19085Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1MB

Jean Ray RU203 I. ."

Michael A. Morgan BE410 IndependentP. 0. Box 70277 28 Bradford StreetSunnyvale, California 94086 Boston, Mass. 02118

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William J. Reckmeyer BE414 Valentin Turchin DR302

San Jose State University The City College of New York

Cybernetic Systems Program Computer Science Dept.

San Jose, California 95192-0113 140 Street at Convent Ave.New York, New York 10031

Laurence Richards DR208

Old Dominion University Stuart Umpleby DR202

School of Engineering-. George Washington Univ.

Norfolk, Virginia 23508 Dept. of Mgt. SciencesWashington, D. C. 20052 "..

Bob Saron EB203

Barnes Road Francisco Varela

Ossining, New York 10562 Max Planck InstituteDeutschorden Strasse 46

Robert M. Sasmor DR303 6000 Frankfurt/M, West Germany

*Army Research Institute5001 Eisenhower Ave. Narayan Viswanathan DR201

Alexandria, Virginia 22333 Adelphi UniversitySchool of Social Work

Mary R. Smith D0102 Garden City, New York 11530Haskins LabsDartmouth College, Gerry Hall Tyler Volk BE302Hanover, New Hampshire 03755 Dept. of Applied Science

New York University

Doreen Steg VEl0 26 Stuyvesant Street

Drexel University New York City, New York 10003

Philadelphia, Penn. 19104Ernst von Glaserfeld VE106

Leo Steg VEl0 Dept. of PsychologyBrookings Institution University of Georqia1775 Mass. Ave. N.W. Athens, Georgia 30602Washington, D. C. 20036

Charlotte von GlaserfeldFrederick Steier Non-Resident Guest of Ernest von GlaserfeldUniversity of PennsylvaniaAnnenberg School of Communications Crayton Walker LE116Philadelphia, Penn. 19143 University of Connecticut

U-41 Information Management* Donald Tanner DR202 Storrs, Connecticut 06268

System Development Corp.500 Macara Ave. Frederic A. Webster LE18-Sunnyvale, California 94086 Retired

(Formerly MIT Lincoln Lab & Sensory Systems Lab)Karl Tomm DR311 Home: Box 36

Family Therapy Program So. Pomfret, Vermont 05067- Univ. of Calgary Medical Clinic

3350 Hospital Drive N. W. Stuart Weibel DR201Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1 Ohio State University

500 W. 12th Ave.

Paul Trachtman P1209 Columbus, Ohio 43210Smithsonian900 Jefferson Drive W. Richard Witherspoon P1207Washington, D. C. 20560 U. S. Army

DAMO-SSM, Hq. D.A.Washington, D. C. 20310

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Milan zeleny P1201Fordham University626E-GBA Fordham Univ.at Lincoln CenterNew York, New York 10023

George Zopf BE304

PAIDEIA 4..-.

Box 239 -.

Arroyo Seco, New Mexico 87514

Virginia Zeller D0106George Washington University2555 Pennsylvania Ave. N. W.Washington, D. C. 20037

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