William Ross Ashby

William Ross Ashby was a British psychiatrist and a pioneer in cybernetics, the study of systems, control, and communication in machines and living beings. He explored how complex systems, like the human brain or ecosystems, self-regulate through feedback loops that maintain stability and adapt to changes. Ashby’s work helped us understand how systems are organized, demonstrating that they can achieve stability or change based on internal rules. His insights are foundational in fields like computing, biology, and engineering, highlighting how systems can be designed or understood to function effectively amid complexity and uncertainty.