Product Description
Do you struggle daily to reach your goals, overcome obstacles, and eliminate pesky worries about your future?

Most of us still live by the motto "no pain, no gain." But this approach to life is actually a prescription for fear, frustration, and self-doubt.

Entrepreneurial genius Dan Kennedy has teamed up with Dr. Maxwell Maltz to create The New Psycho-Cybernetics: A Mind Technology for Living Your Life without Limits. Dr. Maxwell Maltz's principles of Psycho-Cybernetics have inspired and enhanced the lives of more than 30 million people around the world. Dr. Maltz invented a simple, step-by-step program that will help you replace a negative self-image with positive affirmations of empowerment.

The New Psycho-Cybernetics will help you:

*Deprogram yourself from self-doubt and negative self-evaluators
*Respond to stressful events with positive, corrective action
*Improve your self-image and reprogram yourself for success
*Learn to recognize potential signs of danger and avoid failure
*Overcome resistance to change
*Cope with important responsibilities without feeling overwhelmed
*Use a variety of techniques to virtually eliminate stress and anxiety from your life
*Learn a 10-point program for daily self-image strength conditioning
*And much more... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

It just doesnt get better than Psycho-Cybernetics
It still amazes me that the principles that Dr. Maltz founded in 1960 are still, In my personal experience, "The BEST" way for self-improvement that can ever come. This in light of the fact that since then maybe gazillions of books have been published, and even the "practical" methods are not as practical as these principles here, be it techniques for relaxation, dealing with the critic within, or "shadow boxing" . Dr. Maltz was a GENIUS, and this program is a must buy. If only more people had the courage to change their life, truly, this would be the No. 1 course, by far, to do that!

we can do whatever we put our minds to
love learning new things. its true , we can do & be anything we put pur minds to. i appreciate anyone with the skills to put into writing just how easy it really is to do, if your openminded enough & willing to try new things. thank you

Adjust your self-image for a happier life
The subject matter in these CDs was not handled by Dr. Maltz himself but by Dan Kennedy, a lifelong student and practitioner of Dr. Maltz's Creative Psycho-Cybernetics. Mr. Kennedy, in my opinion, was making a commentary on Dr. Maltz's work which he interspersed with audio clips of Dr. Maltz. Upon hearing the contrast, I felt it to be advantageous if I were to buy Dr. Maltz's book, Psycho-Cybernetics, and particularly because Dr. Maltz sounded very lucid. I am not disappointed that this product is more of a commentary than the actual work. It adds to my understanding of the subject and I am happy with the purchase.

love it! - nice supplement to original version
I heard from associates I work with that Psycho-Cybernetics is one of the best "mindset" and personal development books ever.I enjoyed it and I really enjoy audio books, so picked up this 6-CD set to go along with that version.Really enjoyed the two authors, Maxwell Maltz and Dan Kennedy.It was a good mixture of theory and practical use, as well a new and old.Kennedy added some very nice examples to back up what Dr. Maltz talked about.Hearing the two together really helped me to understand it.

I have read mixed reviews about this audio book, especially when comparing it to the original version of the book, which was first published in the 60s.This one is great, in my opinion, since it gives you a different perspective on the original writings.Is it a replacement?Maybe.It's definitely a good start though, so if you're like me and enjoy audio books, definitely pick it up.

Dan Kennedy disappoints from the first second
As I started listening to the program the first thing that is said is how much psycho-cybernetics should be acknowledged because this and that... Dan, I'm sorry but your approval seeking is almost as appaling as ...
Then he proceeds to 'tell' his experiences. I can pretty much see people repeating "I find myself relying more and more on psycho-cybernetics" like good robots and thinking they are better for it. It's so ridiculous it's actually fun.
The 60s (original) version is simply better. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

It is after World War Three....
...and the world is trying to put itself back together. Japan, which was able to sit out the war, is now the center of civilization. Well, not really. Mega-corporations run the nation, having most of the wealth and having assumed control over their employees. Now they fight against each other, using all the weapons available to gain total power over all Japan. The story focues on one such corporation developing an AI with true self-awareness. They in fact create Tokugawa, the first program with consciousness. They start training it with scenarios and ideas from Japan's past, making him into a Samurai. Little did they know how much he would need the training!

Don't judge by the cover. This is cyberpunk to the max, with advanced computers, cool weapon systems, VR devices and hired mercenaries!

If you liked this book, there is also the second in the series: The Cybernetic Shogun.

An interesting Suprise
I have to admit, I passed this book many times on the bookshelf (laughing) before I had the nerve to read it. Despite the slightly uncanny title, the book is rather ingenious for its time. Remembering that Milan wrote itduring the genesis of the cyber-punk revolution. An interesting tale aboutthe plight to find a theorem for generating randomness. I believe thatdie-hard C.P. readers will find this early text an interesting read,especially in comparing with more modern works. ... Read more

Product Description
Dark Future is a science fiction setting that gives players a chance to step into a possible future where America has fallen and immoral corporations have divided up a once great nation. The cities of the new "corporate-nations" are divided further into large gated communities that shelter the wealthy and powerful behind high tech and heavily armed security. Meanwhile the poor are cast out into "other-cities", lawless ghettos where gangs, crime and violence are a way of life.

It contains 9 classes, 27 prestige classes, as well as new skills and skill uses, feats, original psychic powers, unique equipment, firearms and complete new rules for cybernetic augmentation and cybernetic systems. The book also contains a world description of the powers that be: international corporations, merciless gangs, military research facilities, fanatical religious sects and tyrannical government bodies.

Dark Future also introduces the exciting new "contacts" system. This new system allows characters to become closely connected to the NPCs of their world. Through contacts the GM and the players can flesh out and experience the many faces of this divided and dangerous world. In Dark Future as in the modern world, its not what you know, its who you know.

The world of "Dark Future" gives players a chance to experience a new setting unlike any they have ever played. "Dark Future" allows players to pick up where classic novels such as "Fahrenheit 451," "Brave New World," and "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" leave off. "Dark Future" takes the story and flavor of these classic novels and combines it with a Hollywood sense of action and intensity. The characters in "Dark Future" represent the person who has realized the machinery of the world is no longer in the citizens control and chooses to either fight the powers that be, or become a willing part of the system exploiting it for their own gain.

"Dark Future" is a simple role-playing system that offers endless possibilities. Whether it's a ruthless bounty hunter bringing rogue psychics to justice, a cybernetically altered mercenary eliminating enemies of his corporate masters, or a Surger whose psychic powers demolish and destroy anything in his way, the players have a wide selection of roles to play in the world, not all of them necessarily good ... Read more

Product Description

In these ground-breaking essays, Heinz von Foerster discusses some of the fundamental principles that govern how we know the world and how we process the information from which we derive that knowledge. The author was one of the founders of the science of cybernetics.

Product Description
Neural Network Modeling offers a cohesive approach to the statistical mechanics and principles of cybernetics as a basis for neural network modeling. It brings together neurobiologists and the engineers who design intelligent automata to understand the physics of collective behavior pertinent to neural elements and the self-control aspects of neurocybernetics. The theoretical perspectives and explanatory projections portray the most current information in the field, some of which counters certain conventional concepts in the visualization of neuronal interactions. ... Read more

Product Description
The second edition of the International Encyclopaedia of Systems and Cybernetics provides, once again, a complete overview of the state of Cybernetics and its development since its beginnings more then fifty years ago. Many of the events around the worldwide during recent years can be better understood by applying instruments belonging to system theory and cybernetics. Thus, the function of neural networks as a model of the interaction of many single elements in one coherent action can be applied to other social interactions and communication schemes: from the building of insect states, to the spreading of epidemics or the course of a stock market crash. This Encyclopaedia contains the widely known basic concept as well as detailed information on many sections of the field. Most of this knowledge resulted from hundreds of lectures given at international und national congresses, and is made easily accessible to a broad public as well as to the majority of scientists for the first time here. The work contains almost 4,000 entries in alphabetical order with numerous citations by hundreds of authors. Over 1,500 special references to and details of societies for Cybernetics around the world, and leading professional journals complete this presentation. Above all, the number of references in French, Italian, German and many other languages has risen considerably compared with the first edition. The International Encyclopaedia of Systems and Cybernetics is an essential aid for scientists, librarians and students in many fields: e.g. philosophy, economics, ecology, history, politology, sociology and communication science. With its broad scientific approach, this work can make a significant contribution to the improvement of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary exchange. Equally, this encyclopaedia will be of interest to executives working in business, politics and society. ... Read more

Product Description
Child prodigy and brilliant MIT mathematician, Norbert Wiener founded the revolutionary science of cybernetics and ignited the information-age explosion of computers, automation, and global telecommunications. His best-selling book, Cybernetics, catapulted him into the public spotlight, as did his chilling visions of the future and his ardent social activism.
Based on a wealth of primary sources and exclusive access to Wiener’s closest family members, friends, and colleagues, Dark Hero of the Information Age reveals this eccentric genius as an extraordinarily complex figure.No one interested in the intersection of technology and culture will want to miss this epic story of one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant and colorful figures.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

shocking! disturbing! controversial! (and, fairly good!)
As you might guess from my choice of review title, I'm spoofing the corny book title and scattered journalistic excesses of this otherwise solid biography. I must confess that despite reading the book cover to cover I am still unable to see the subject as a "dark hero" of anything, although like many more ordinary mortals he was quite human and capable of being angry, nasty, jealous, and spiteful when provoked (or when he thought himself provoked). Perhaps the worst that can be said of him was he broke with a fragile young protege, Walter Pitts, in an unpleasant way, and apparently sent him on a tailspin into alcoholism and early death. However, it was clearly not his intention to cause such an outcome, and Mr. Pitts' background made him particularly susceptible to such a denouement. If anyone in the book can be described as "dark" (an adjective which I find unfortunate when used as a negative), it would be Wiener's wife, whose sexual obsessions and reactionary, anti-Semitic political views are fully aired.

Wiener was obviously a brilliant thinker, a very important mathematician and engineer, a good self-promoter, and a seminal figure in the early days of information theory and computers. He did not quite grab the brass ring in either field, however: that honor goes respectively to Claude Shannon and Johnny von Neumann. What he did do was write a scientific book which somewhat inexplicably became a best seller and made him famous in a way few scientists have been. Later in his career he became increasingly concerned with the possible negative effects of computers and cybernetics on human society, and issued some warnings which we would continue to be well advised to heed.

That this biography was written by journalists rather than scientists is evident throughout. There is an annoying tendency to employ unnecessarily purplish adjectives and to be sloppy with scientific definitions (e.g. entropy is defined as the state of maximum disorder and chaos, and then a little later defined correctly as a measure of the amount of disorder). I would have preferred a more balanced assessment of Wiener's importance vis-a-vis other major figures of his time, such as Shannon and von Neumann. However, the book is nonetheless well-researched and detailed, and certainly gives the reader an excellent depiction of Wiener the man and the scientist.

bent twig coming home to roost
I was mainly interested in the psychological insights. People who have been born with a brain face problems that those who accept regimentation for uniformity might consider crazy. Norbert Wiener's activism in response to the use of nuclear weapons at the end of World War II might be used to display some of his fits of temper in this book, but the level of psychological attention on how his mind worked in various situations and the ways other people tried to help seemed very down to earth for me. My interest in psychotic multiplicity wanted all the details on his wife Margaret. Just to provide a sample:

Dr. Pauline Cooke, a research fellow at the University of Illinois Medical School and a member of McCulloch's retinue who later also moved to Cambridge got the same impression. "It would be impossible for a person like Margaret Wiener to like Warren McCulloch. He was the antithesis of everything a middle-class German believes in. They were social worlds apart." (p. 224).

I was recycling periodicals from my closet when I found a review of this book in the New York Review of Books and wanted to get not just this book, but Snapping, by the same authors, which has a second edition covering a Branch Davidian event on April 19, 1993, near Waco, Texas, when Mt. Carmel went up in smoke.

A Fascinating Account of Norbert Wiener - Father of Cybernetics.
_Dark Hero of the Information Age:In Search of Norbert Wiener The Father of Cybernetics_ by the researchers Flo Conway and Jim Siegelman, who had previously written on cults and fundamentalism, is a fascinating biography of an important figure in the history of the last century who played an important role in heralding in the coming age of information.Norbert Wiener (1894 - 1964) was a fascinating individual and a man of many talents who is perhaps best remembered as both a mathematician and the father of the science of cybernetics.Wiener was a highly eccentric individual who had been renowned as a child prodigy in his youth and studied at Tufts and Harvard from the ages of 11 to 14, eventually earning his Ph.D. at age 18.Following his early years, Wiener became an academic originally focusing on philosophy and mathematics, though taking a more applied bent towards mathematical research than some of his contemporaries such as G. H. Hardy, who routinely castigated him for this.Wiener's career took off at MIT where he developed the science of cybernetics, which was to play such an important role in furthering engineering, biological, and social sciences, as well as playing the role of an astute commentator on the role of automation.Cybernetics (a term derived from the Greek for "steersman"), the creation of Norbert Wiener, was an essential science in the understanding of feedback and control systems.Wiener continued to develop his theories following the publication of his first book on the subject and in particular examined the role of automation among workers.Wiener also was able to prove an inspiration for several important engineering projects focusing on such things as the human brain, artificial intelligence, and the development of prostheses for amputees.Wiener's ideas played an important role in the United States, but with the advent of the Cold War they also played a role in the Soviet Union, as well as in India where Wiener saw certain potential developments arising from newfound technologies.While Wiener was an agnostic throughout his life, his ancestors were Jews and he may have been related to the Jewish philosopher Maimonides, and he developed a profound interest in Indian philosophy and Hinduism ultimately leading him to accept the notion of reincarnation.Wiener's theories played an important role in paving the way for the information age to come and we see the end result of that in the information explosion in this century.This book offers a fascinating examination of the life of Norbert Wiener and is an excellent biography of this great man.

This book starts with Wiener's early life, particularly as he developed into a child prodigy.The book begins with Leo Wiener, the father of Norbert Wiener, who was an adamant proponent of the ideals of Tolstoy and vegetarianism.Leo Wiener came to the United States and eventually made his way to Cambridge, Massachusetts where Norbert's talents for languages became widely known.Norbert Wiener became known as the "most remarkable boy in the world" and would attend university at Tufts and Harvard, originally specializing in zoology, along with other child prodigies such as William James Sidis.Following his Ph.D. at Harvard at the age of 18, Wiener traveled to Europe to study logic and philosophy with such individuals as Bertrand Russell.However, upon returning home, Wiener underwent somewhat of a crisis.Wiener, who was a lifelong manic depressive and prone to absent-minded spells and depressions, would largely see his emotional turmoil as arising out of his early youth.Wiener went on to join the faculty at MIT, an engineering school which hoped to promote a new mathematics department.Wiener made several important contributions and it was here that he developed his science of cybernetics.Wiener was known to all his students for his "Wienerwegs" or "Wienerwalks", where he frequently absent-mindedly roamed about the halls and campus of MIT.Wiener married and had two daughters.He also became involved with various other individuals and prodigies who tried to advance the science of cybernetics and the logical system developed by Russell in the _Principia Mathematica_.Wiener also was active in promoting the Macy conferences, where a diverse group of intellectuals including mathematicians, economists, social scientists, and anthropologists worked out the ideas of cybernetics.Wiener was deeply concerned about the role that automation would play in the coming era and wrote an important work focusing on the "human use of human beings" to show his concern over the new role of automation and computers.Wiener also wrote some more religious and philosophical works in which he attempted to address the problem of the "golem" from Jewish mythology as it concerned man and his creations.During the Cold War, Wiener refused to participate in research for the military and this led to his being branded a "Red" by the FBI.Wiener eventually was to travel to Europe and even the Soviet Union where he attempted to advance the science of cybernetics, although he made clear that he disapproved of the role of both superpowers in the Cold War.Wiener also knew the mathematician and Nobel Prize winner John Nash while he was at MIT.In his old age, Wiener took an interest in India and Hinduism.Wiener attempted to identify a new role for automation in India and the potentially liberating effects of such technologies.Wiener also traveled to Stockholm to attend the Nobel Prize ceremony and it was here that he died.

This book offers an interesting account of the life of an important figure in the dawn of the information age.Norbert Wiener and his science of cybernetics played a great role in giving rise to the information age and the era of computing.While Wiener was certainly a man of many talents and contradictions, he also had a darker side to him as did the technologies made possible through his advances.It is for this reason that he may be seen as the "dark hero of the information age" and the father of cybernetics.

100,000% Shovelware
From a historical and economic and sociological perspective, this book is utter propaganda.

For example, from page 340, "To date, India's engineers and entrepreneurs have had the most success following the path Wiener chartered for their country's advancement, and while their numbers are still small compared to the whole of their population, they are reaping many of the benefits Weiner envisioned without the drawbacks of older models of industrialization."

Joke!

There is categorically no relationship between India's newfound economic success and Norbert Wiener.None.Na-da.Nothing.Zip-0!

And that was just a single sentence from this text.Just imagine what else lurks in 400 pages of writing from what are two absolute fools.Flo conway and Jim siegelman are the stupidest writers ever!

Dark Hero of the Information Age recounts his life and discoveries - and the consequences of his discoveries.
Dark Hero of the Information Age: In Search of Nortbert Wiener the Father of Cybernetics tells of an ex-child prodigy and MIT mathematician who founded cybernetics - and then spent the rest of his life warning the world of the consequences of the new technologies he helped foster. Surprisingly, his works and his warnings are relatively unknown today - despite the fact many of his concerns and predictions came true. Dark Hero of the Information Age recounts his life and discoveries - and the consequences of his discoveries.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch ... Read more

Product Description
"Stafford Beer is undoubtedly among the worlds most provocative, creative, and profound thinkers on the subject of management, and he records his thinking with a flair that is unmatched. His writing is as much art as it is science. He is the most viable system I know." Dr Russell L Ackoff, The Institute for Interactive Management, Pennsylvania, USA.

"If…anyone can make it [Operations Research] understandably readable and positively interesting it is Stafford Beer … everyone in management…should be grateful to him for using clear and at times elegant English and … even elegant diagrams." The Economist Awarded the 1966 Lanchester Prize by the Operations Research Society of America for the best work published in 1966 in the field of management science this book has been regarded as a ‘Classic ever since.

"in the literature of management there is nothing to be compared with it…" Operational Research Quarterly

"This superb book is one of the very best I have ever read on management science." Management Science

"A brilliant book… which rose far above the ruck of jargon-ridden ephemera. This is a study—profound, wide ranging, witty, graceful and self-critical of the working of managerial systems…" The Sunday Times

"The sheer scale and scope of Beers book would rate it management text of the year in any list" The Statist

"Decision and Control is a major work, both elegant and erudite." The Guardian

"Beers imagination and enthusiasm stimulate those with whom he works to seek and cause improvements…" The Director ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The thermostat of society
We know the ideal room temperature that we want. There are however all kinds of factors continually changing the room- temperature. We havea means of measuring the temperature continually and making readjustments to keep it steady. The feedback, the report on what is 'happening now in the system'enables us to alter the system to produce the ideal result that we want. This feedback enables us to pilot the system as we want it , and keep it under our control.
So much for the thermostat, feedback, and I believe the basic idea of Norbert Weiner's communications- control world.
But what happens when the ideal result is not agreed upon at the outset? And what happens when the ' measuring' of the system is not a non- ambiguous straightforward matter?
Is it possible that human affairs are so complicated, so informed by what Isaiah Berlin might call 'competing and conflicting ideal ends and values', that a model for their development based on a simple physical analogy is not appropriate? and this even though that model is presented by a very great genius?

This book captures the essential aspects of communications.
The purpose of communication is to control our enviornment.In order to communicate effectively, however, it is essential that we consider the feedback we are getting.Alteration of sending messages is the mostimportant aspect of effective communication.That requires that weconsider the audience we are talking to and change our message relative tothe feedback and the audience.Weiner presents the philosophic argumentsfor communication.These concepts remain unchanged since the publicationof this book in 1954.This is the finest book on theory of communication Ihave read.Everyone concerned with improving communication should readthis thought provoking book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An Excellent Work
Victor Milán managed to synthesize artificial intelligences, post-apocalyptic cyberpunk, and space adventure in this excellent novel. I picked it up almost at random, and was pleasantly surprised by its depth.It takes place in an alternative history to ours, a couple of decades aftera NATO-Warsaw Pact Third World War, and just a couple of weeks after aFourth World War fought by the embittered successor states. In a worldwhere the pre-War Three Great Powers (the US, Soviet Union, China, westernEurope) havebeen devastated, and where the pre-War Four Great Powers(Brazil, Indonesia, Greater Queensland, EasyCo) have fallen into civil war,only Japan has managed to survive intact, as a technological power. Thefirst AI created -- TOKUGAWA -- saved Japan from nuclear war, but killedhimself rather than lead Japan into empire.His children, HIDETADA andMUSASHI, manage to throw the world into chaos through their fights, asJapan approaches the point of military coup d'état, Europe becomes atheocracy, and the rest of the world sinks into chaos. MUSASHI -- by farthe more benevolent of the two AIs -- tries to launch a starship to letsome people escape from the hell that is Earth ... This story isn't themost cheerful that I've read, but it's one of the most complex anddownright interesting that I've happened upon. I strongly recommend anyonereading this review to get it, by hook or by crook. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the engaging story of a moment of transformation in the human sciences, a detailed account of a remarkable group of people who met regularly from 1946 to 1953 to explore the possibility of using scientific ideas that had emerged in the war years (cybernetics, information theory, computer theory) as a basis for interdisciplinary alliances. The Macy Conferences on Cybernetics, as they came to be called, included such luminaries as Norbert Wiener, John von Neumann, Margaret Mead, Gregory Bateson, Warren McCulloch, Walter Pitts, Kurt Lewin, F. S. C. Northrop, Molly Harrower, and Lawrence Kubie, who thought and argued together about such topics as insanity, vision, circular causality, language, the brain as a digital machine, and how to make wise decisions.Heims, who met and talked with many of the participants, portrays them not only as thinkers but as human beings. His account examines how the conduct and content of research are shaped by the society in which it occurs and how the spirit of the times, in this case a mixture of postwar confidence and cold-war paranoia, affected the thinking of the cybernetics group. He uses the meetings to explore the strong influence elite groups can have in establishing connections and agendas for research and provides a firsthand took at the emergence of paradigms that were to become central to the new fields of artificial intelligence and cognitive science.In his joint biography of John von Neumann and Norbert Wiener, Heims offered a challenging interpretation of the development of recent American science and technology. Here, in this group portrait of an important generation of American intellectuals, Heims extends that interpretation to a broader canvas, in the process paying special attention to the two iconoclastic figures, Warren McCulloch and Gregory Bateson, whose ideas on the nature of the mind/brain and on holism are enjoying renewal today.Steve J. Heims, once a research physicist, has devoted his attention to the history of twentieth century science for the past two decades. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

good on the nature of mental problems
I know more about many of the names in this book in 2010 than I did when I read it in 2009. Currently looking for recognition of elite thinking, I found a comment by Lettvin on the gleeful hubris with which Warren S. McCulloch and Walter Pitts attempted to describe logical operations in the brain for a higher function that required an unutterably complicated system. (p. 233). I wish I knew that was what I wanted the first time I read this book.

Those who would like to see the background which allowed Michel Foucault to emerge as an expert in the way civilized society attempts to deal with people who are considered mad by people who no longer function well together would benefit from the context in which professionals who had competing responsibilites could observe each other trying the same aspects of psychotic multiplicity on each other again and again without finding the kind of resolution any sane society would insist upon. Foucault gets quoted and mentioned as a frame of reference suitable in 1991 for understanding issues raised in Macy conferences and subsequent papers by the outstanding participants. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Perhaps the single Most Important Book
My name is Michael Erlewine. I have studied astrology for some 40 years and maintain what is probably the largest astrological library open to the public, the "Heart Center Library." Of all those books and magazines, some 5,000 or so, Theodor Landscheidt's "Cosmic Cybernetics" is the single most visionary book on astrology I have ever read. Enough said. ... Read more