From Newspeak to Cyberspeak

Explore the radical reform in science and society that was Soviet cybernetics. In this book, author Slava Gerovitch argues that it was not just an intellectual trend, but a social movement. Cybernetics followers viewed computer simulations as a universal problem-solving method and the language of cybernetics as one of objectivity and truth. With these new ideas, they challenged the existing order in science, economics, and politics. Gerovitch uses extensive archival materials to trace the evolution of Soviet cybernetics and its language, from its labeling as a reactionary pseudoscience to a movement for radical reform, and finally a trendy fad. CyberNewspeak emerged as the language of this evolution, reflecting significant changes in scientific discourse, power relations within the scientific community and the political role of scientists in Soviet society.