Talk:W. Ross Ashby

Was WR Ashby who published about the Mutual Information?
I was searching who developed the Mutual Information technique, and I found This article. There, WR Ashby is cited as the author of the technique. In fact, in Google Scholar, the citation can be found as here (first item). Mutual Information is an important technique in several disciplines. If this page is related to the same person, this info should be posted. --Sergio Iván Castro Piedrahíta (talk) 00:31, 5 December 2016 (UTC)

In Measuring the Internal Information Exchange Ashby cites Shannon and McGill for the "transmission" H(A) + H(B) - H(A,B), which is equivalent to the mutual information. Krippendorf cites this work as extending mutual information to multiple variables. Terminator 2 really happened (talk) 02:31, 30 March 2021 (UTC)

Discussion forums?
Does anyone know of any forums/groups where I can find people who read Ashby's work and with whom I can discuss it? Search for cybernetics mostly turns up AI and other complex fields. If you know of a good community online or yourself have read "An introduction to cybernetics" - give me a shout and leave me a comment on my talk page. Thank you. Drozdyuk (talk) 12:13, 7 July 2010 (UTC)

TO DO list

 * detail in brief some of his theories under a major section titled contributions. I would suggest detailing (1) intelligence amplification and (2) his understanding of cybernetics and how it influenced particularly Norbert Wiener and (3) his concept of self-organization and its influence on others.  This article should be at least 2 full pages instead of its current stub-like state. --Ben Houston 20:07, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

His name
In my experience, he was always known as Ross Ashby; William was never used. I have therefore adjusted the first line, and suggest the heading of the whole page is adjusted if others concur. Macdonald-ross (talk) 07:42, 21 December 2007 (UTC)
 * Interesting point, in his book "Introduction to Cybernetics" W. Ross Ashby is used, however I am not sure what the "law" is on expanding or shortening the name outside the book's cover. However if you do adjust it to W. then it will not be known what "W." stands for! In fact, right now as it is, I find it rather backwards - where the title has the full name, but the body has only an initial. Perhaps looking to some other famous names with a similar composition can provide a clue (I am at a loss for examples at this moment). Drozdyuk (talk) 21:08, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

Origin of the term "self-organization"
The claim that this concept originated with Ashby is incorrect. It first appears in Kant's Critique of Judgement, page 374 (Google Books version has it on page 202): In such a natural product as this every part is thought as owing its presence to the agency of all the remaining parts, and also as existing for the sake of the others and of the whole, that is as an instrument, or organ.... The part must be an organ producing the other parts—each, consequently, reciprocally producing the others.... Only under these conditions and upon these terms can such a product be an organized and self-organized being, and, as such, be called a physical end.

Coining of word Cybernetics?
This article claims that Ross Ashby's book was the first recorded use of the word "cybernetics" and the term was later used by Norbert Wiener... but this was published in 1956, and Wiener's Cybernetics has already been published in 1947?? DaveApter (talk) 13:42, 26 August 2014 (UTC)

External links modified
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