Embodying the Work of Norbert Wiener

Mary Catherine Bateson, Professor Emerita and daughter of anthropologists Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, offered a deeply personal perspective on Wiener's life and thought. She recalled Wiener visiting her family home and shared his characteristic question, "How did you know what to do?" She also discussed the possibility that Wiener may have had Asperger's syndrome, which could partly explain both his extraordinary intellectual focus and his well-known social eccentricities.

Bateson applied cybernetic thinking to the contemporary challenge of climate change, arguing forcefully for systemic approaches over command-and-control models. She contended that the feedback-driven, adaptive framework at the heart of cybernetics is far better suited to addressing complex environmental problems than the linear, top-down strategies that have dominated policy discussions. Her presentation embodied the interdisciplinary spirit that Wiener himself championed.