Cybernetics is the science of defensible metaphor. – Gordon Park
Cybernetics is the science of regulatory and control systems in man and machine” – Norbert Wiener
The science of self-regulating systems, highlighting the interconnectedness of mind and body and the limitations of purely purposive thinking.
It seems that cybernetics is many things to many different people, but this is because of the richness of its conceptual base. And this is, I believe, very good; otherwise, cybernetics would become a somewhat boring exercise. However, all of those perspectives arise from one central theme, and that is that of circularity. Cybernetics is the science of defensible metaphors. – Gordon Pask