Heinz von Foerster

Heinz von Foerster (born Heinz von Förster; November 13, 1911 – October 2, 2002) was an Austrian-American scientist who merged physics and philosophy, widely credited as the originator of second-order cybernetics. He was a two-time Guggenheim fellow and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His 1960 "Doomsday equation" predicted future population growth. A polymath, he authored nearly two hundred papers in diverse fields including computer science, artificial intelligence, epistemology, electronics, electro-optics, and biophysics, studying memory and knowledge. He also researched cognition based on neurophysiology, mathematics, and philosophy. He is considered one of the most consequential thinkers in cybernetics. After moving to the US and meeting Warren Sturgis McCulloch, he received funding from the Pentagon to establish the Biological Computer Laboratory, which created the first parallel computer, the Numa-Rete. He was a key figure in the Macy conferences, serving as editor of their proceedings.