PDF Download Cybernetic Revolutionaries: Technology and Politics in Allende's Chile (The MIT Press), by Eden Medina

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Cybernetic Revolutionaries: Technology and Politics in Allende's Chile (The MIT Press), by Eden Medina

PDF Download Cybernetic Revolutionaries: Technology and Politics in Allende's Chile (The MIT Press), by Eden Medina

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Review

...Medina has written a wonderful, accessible book, a thorough examination of a project that generally serves as an enigmatic aside in other histories. At times it's quite a romp, as befits a story with an extraordinary character like Beer at its heart. And it's a splendid introduction to Beer's thoughts, his ideals and the history of cybernetics.―Icon MagazineThis is indispensable reading for historians of Latin America and historians of technology alike.―Suzanne Moone, American Historical Review

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Review

Cybernetic Revolutionaries is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of cybernetics or the intersection of computer technology and politics.―Howard Rheingold, critic and author of Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution (2014-01-01)This wonderful book explores cybernetics in Allende's Chile. In so doing, it blends social and technical issues with large scale economic planning and the dynamic politics of the time. It is a must-read for anyone interested in this era, and for anyone interested in the incorporation of science and technology studies into historical and political discourse.―Geoffrey C. Bowker, Professor and Senior Scholar in Cyberscholarship, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh (2014-01-01)Though we forget it at our peril, cybernetics has always been a science of control as well as communication. Medina's riveting history returns us to a moment when computers promised to liberate an entire nation. It reminds us just how appealing a cybernetic utopia can be, and how impossible to achieve.―Fred Turner, author of From Counterculture to Cyberculture: Stewart Brand, the Whole Earth Network and the Rise of Digital Utopianism

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Product details

Series: The MIT Press

Paperback: 342 pages

Publisher: The MIT Press; Reprint edition (January 10, 2014)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0262525968

ISBN-13: 978-0262525961

Product Dimensions:

7 x 0.6 x 9 inches

Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.5 out of 5 stars

9 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#362,737 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

I hesitate giving three stars because such a unique work will doubtless leave me with a valuable and lasting impression. But I feel obligated to bring expectations down to earth given all the four-star reviews.First of all, the author did an impressive amount of original research. Full stop. Kudos.However, the book is a Ph.D dissertation in form, if not function. The topic of the dissertation is not Project Cybersyn so much as a general commentary on the intersection of political and technological change, with Project Cybersyn as a sort of passive sounding board. And the thesis? I couldn't honestly tell you. Like Project Cybersyn, the thesis remains out-of-focus and definitely out-of-reach, at least to someone not on her review committee.As a dissertation, the author spends well over half the book discussing her theoretical analysis of the relationship between politics and technology. And she makes sure her dissertation reviewers never miss any of her points by relentlessly using the journalistic formula--"tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em, tell 'em, tell 'em what you told 'em"--at every level of argumentation; sometimes in the same paragraph; and I could swear in the same sentence. That leaves the casual reader with only a bare thread of historical recounting weaving through the pages.In the end so very little of the original research comes through relative to the impressive amount of material the author assembled that it was hard not to be disappointed. Fortunately the reader is still left with a considerable amount of objective history to chew on to make the book a worthwhile read.If the author had sufficient time on her hands, it might be worthwhile to simply rewrite the book properly. With her Ph.D (and dissertation defense) behind her, she can dispense with the vast majority of her commentary, starting with almost every argument and observation up until the last few chapters. That's clearly when she found her feet, anyhow, and when she begins making her most bold and poignant observations. But most importantly, she could fit in much, much more of her research. And then round it out by adding additional historical context, including comparing and contrasting Soviet and other projects--of which I have little insight, much like most readers not in her field of study--which are really only hinted at, with frustrating disclaimers excusing their omission.Basically, the ratio needs to be reversed. Rather than cherry picking details to pepper the commentary, the author should craft a concise and concrete narrative to accompany a more substantive recounting of the history. Because Project Cybersyn was prematurely ended, and almost immediately fell short of the original vision, it would be necessary to expand the scope of historical context, which would be fine by me.

Fascinating, forgotten story. Told in a clear and entertaining manner. Well written, readable, important history as we rethink how to manage organizations in the 21st century.

Not only for chilean, though everybody should know this part of cybernetic history. A world of 21th century built in the heart of a poor country in middle of cold war.

It's probably only book completely devoted to project Cybersyn, so I'd bought it in any case. But "Cybernetic Revolutionaries" is much more: it's really great story based on a lot of real documents and interviews with alive participants of one of the greatest cybernetic projects that history knows. I definitely recommend it!

Excellent. A must read for people interested in the history of Chile and Allende's government. A groudbreaking investigation.

Pleased with product. Got everything on time.

I just finished my first reading of Cybernetic Revolutionaries. It tells a compelling tale of the crossover that can occur between politics and new technologies, with lessons that are still relevant today. It is a refreshingly new and accessible account of the Cybersyn story. It's a great read and will be staying close at hand on my bookshelf.

The topic of this book is the interplay between technological and political ideology. The particular case study is Project Cybersyn during the years of the Marxist experiment in Chile, ending with the assassination of President Allende on September 11th (YES, September 11th!!), 1973. Project Cybersyn was the name given to the attempt to more formally structure aspects of the Chilean economy in line with the Viable System Model of Stafford Beer.I find the book to be of particular value because Eden is talking from the sidelines, both in terms of the politics and the technology. Because of this, her account is without the sometimes absurd and hysterical tone of much writing on such matters. Instead, she captures and conveys the sheer exhilaration, confusion, hopes and despair which accompany such events. This mood of chaotic ups and downs is generally absent from 'more sober' historical accounts which (as Foucault cautioned us) tend to unfold the narrative of the historian's 'present' rather than uncover the way of actual happenings in their intrinisic messiness!As Russell Ackoff, Peter Checkland and others have noted, our social and political world is perhaps best described as intrinsically messy. The 'best laid plans of mice and men' retain their integrity and original elegance only in the world of ideas. As we attempt to embody such ideas and models in actual practice, strange things are wont to happen (both to the `real world' itself; and to the integrity of the models we use. This book is a wonderful account of such messiness in its happening.There are several potential audiences for the book:1. Perhaps, the historian.2. Definitely the political historian of Latin America (and Chile).3. People interested in Stafford Beer.4. People interested in management cybernetics (in particular, the Viable System Model).5. All those interested in the practical application of intellectual models to the 'real world'.The book fails to focus on any single one of these audiences, but this is perhaps its strength in appealing to a more general readership and instigating further research in a variety of areas. Medina makes one WANT TO KNOW MORE - whether about the cybernetics ideas, the historical background to Allende's presidency, or the paranoia of the West (primarily in the case USA) regarding communism and all matters perceived as 'soviet'.In addition, the author captures the anomalies in the character of the key protagonist, Stafford Beer. We catch sight of glimpses and flashes of the man, behind a 'smokescreen' of fat cigars and whisky, as we almost inadvertently accompany him on a strange personal journey. From a rather complacent, smug, arrogant and rather impersonal and indifferent `suit' at home in London's stockbroker belt; Medina traces Beer as he stumbles, and perhaps begins to question his lifestyle, direction and as he finds himself an unwitting pawn in the game of international politics and manipulation - the world that is NOT a pampered existence in the stockbroker belt, but a flesh and blood world in which people live and die and bleed.Those of us who knew him in later years know what a profound effect this all had on the man, and this Book is particularly informative here.As for the practice........ the application.....the experiment.............Well, the jury remains out. In other words, it is very difficult - even reading between the lines - to make a guess as to which aspects of the cybernetic modelling were actually tested, and which showed signs of validation and which didn't.The project (both Cybernsyn and the Chilean experiment with Marxist democracy - we should remember that this was the ONLY Marxist government that achieved office through democratic vote), was doomed from the start because of the perception of US and UK (and France) that success for such a government would hasten the 'domino effect' and the imperial claims of USSR. From the very first election won by Allende, it is clear that US (and others) would do everything in its power to destabilize matters and install a puppet dictatorship as had been done in most other Latin American nations of the time. This `squeeze' indeed presented the opportunity offered Beer, as desperate times require desperate remedies, and Chile very quickly found itself in desperate times. There are interesting indications that aspects of the model did have an impact and, for instance, did allow the government to survive two massively disruptive national strikes backed by `the West'. But the overall momentum was towards chaos, disruption and revolution to replace Allende with a military junta.The one weakness of the book arises on the subject of the entailed cybernetic ideas. I don't feel it is overly harsh to state that Medina is no cybernetic expert (indeed, hence the strength of the book, as I mention above), and she does not quite manage to clearly explain what VSM sets out to achieve in terms of metrices and new structural forms in the political and economic space. On the other hand, had this been her focus it would have been a different (and perhaps a lesser) book.Her primary focus is not, after all cybernetics (or a critique thereof), but the uneasy fit of political and technological ideologies. And this she conveys superbly. Surely, a good, down-to-earth read and much food for thought!

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