Remarks on the award of the Margaret Mead Prize to Norman O. Gunderson
American Society of Cybernetics — 60th Anniversary Meeting
June 15, 2024
What a pleasure it was to learn from Bill that the American Society for Cybernetics has recognized our father for his creation of the Cybernetic Systems Program at San José State University. That he’s a co-recipient of the first Margaret Mead Prize is a thrill to both my brother, John Gunderson, and me. We can’t be with you in person to accept the award, but we appreciate that Bill has offered to give our remarks.
To start, knowing that the ASC believes that what our father accomplished aligns with the purpose of the Mead Prize is so very satisfying to us. He saw that cybernetics offered a path towards collaboratively solving the world’s problems and he created a program to educate people to be those problem solvers. Going through his papers and memorabilia in the last few years impressed on me even more what he accomplished, even as he remained devoted to his family and found the time to offer his friendship and counsel to so many friends and colleagues.
I know I’m not alone when I say that as a young person, I didn’t appreciate so many things about my parents. What I did appreciate about my father though, was that he was always doing something. I remember his saying to me in a joking way, “don’t just stand there, do something!” I took this as a reminder that it’s important to be thinking, to be active, and to create. He certainly practiced what he preached. When he died in 1996 at the age of 77, my mother reflected that perhaps all his industry reflected some feeling that time is short, and he’d better keep at it. And he did.
Were our father here to join you at this conference, he’d surely say—what a great time I’m having! He’d thank you for your devotion to the field. He’d be amazed at the program you’ve put together. There’s Cybernetics and the Hyperactive Hive Mind. Then there’s Visuality: A Possible Encounter with Cybernetics. And the best one, I think: Cybernetics is Dead! Long Live Cybernetics!
I’m a graduate of the Cybernetic Systems Program myself, having received my MS in 1978. While I didn’t pursue work in the field, I did gain a way of looking at the world. That view is that we must all work together to overcome the ever-increasing challenges the world faces. That you are all here celebrating cybernetics’ past and planning for its future contributions is the most reassuring thing I’ve heard this year.
And finally, thank you very much to Bill Reckmeyer for championing the nomination of Norman O. Gunderson for the Margaret Mead Prize. We are grateful for him for the nomination, and to the ASC for bestowing it.
Thank you,
Cherielyn Ferguson and John Gunderson
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