Warren Sturgis McCulloch
Encyclopedia
Warren Sturgis McCulloch (November 16, 1898 – September 24, 1969) was an American neurophysiologist and cybernetician
, known for his work on the foundation for certain brain theories and his contribution to the cybernetics movement.
, in 1898. He attended Haverford
and studied philosophy and psychology at Yale University
, where he received an A.B. degree in 1921. He continued to study psychology at Columbia
and received a M.A. degree in 1923. Receiving his MD in 1927 from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
in New York, he undertook an internship at Bellevue Hospital, New York, before returning to academia in 1934.
He worked at the Laboratory for Neurophysiology at Yale University from 1934 to 1941, before moving to the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago
.
From 1952 he worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
. He also worked at Yale University and later at the University of Chicago
.
He was a founding member of the American Society for Cybernetics
and its second president during 1967–1968. He was a mentor to the British operations research
pioneer Stafford Beer.
Warren McCulloch had a remarkable range of interests and talents. In addition to his scientific contributions he wrote poetry (sonnet
s), and he designed and engineered buildings and a dam at his farm in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
He died in Cambridge
in 1969.
from the University of Chicago
. Here he provided the foundation for certain brain theories in a number of classic papers, including "A Logical Calculus of the Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity" (1943) and "How We Know Universals: The Perception of Auditory and Visual Forms" (1947), both published in the Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics. The former is "widely credited with being a seminal contribution to neural network theory, the theory of automata, the theory of computation, and cybernetics".
program could be implemented in a finite network of formal neuron
s, (in the event, the Turing Machine contains their model of the brain, but the converse is not true) that the neuron was the base logic unit of the brain. In the 1947 paper they offered approaches to designing "nervous nets" to recognize visual inputs despite changes in orientation or size.
From 1952 he worked at the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT
, working primarily on neural network
modelling. His team examined the visual system of the frog
in consideration of McCulloch's 1947 paper, discovering that the eye provides the brain with information that is already, to a degree, organized and interpreted, instead of simply transmitting an image.
s as to how the brain deals with contradictory information in a democratic, somatotopical neural network. His principle of "Redundancy of Potential Command" was developed by von Forster
and Pask
in their study of Self-organization
.
Articles, a selection:
Papers published by the Chicago Literary Club:
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
, known for his work on the foundation for certain brain theories and his contribution to the cybernetics movement.
Biography
Warren Sturgis McCulloch was born in Orange, New JerseyOrange, New Jersey
The City of Orange is a city and township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 30,134...
, in 1898. He attended Haverford
Haverford College
Haverford College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college located in Haverford, Pennsylvania, United States, a suburb of Philadelphia...
and studied philosophy and psychology at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
, where he received an A.B. degree in 1921. He continued to study psychology at Columbia
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and received a M.A. degree in 1923. Receiving his MD in 1927 from the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, often known as P&S, is a graduate school of Columbia University that is located on the health sciences campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan...
in New York, he undertook an internship at Bellevue Hospital, New York, before returning to academia in 1934.
He worked at the Laboratory for Neurophysiology at Yale University from 1934 to 1941, before moving to the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Chicago
The University of Illinois at Chicago, or UIC, is a state-funded public research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, near the Chicago Loop...
.
From 1952 he worked at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
. He also worked at Yale University and later at the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
.
He was a founding member of the American Society for Cybernetics
American Society for Cybernetics
The American Society for Cybernetics is an American non-profit scholastic organization for organization for the advancement of cybernetics as a science and the interdisciplinary collaboration and synthesis of cybernetics. The society contributes to the cooperation around the research and...
and its second president during 1967–1968. He was a mentor to the British operations research
Operations research
Operations research is an interdisciplinary mathematical science that focuses on the effective use of technology by organizations...
pioneer Stafford Beer.
Warren McCulloch had a remarkable range of interests and talents. In addition to his scientific contributions he wrote poetry (sonnet
Sonnet
A sonnet is one of several forms of poetry that originate in Europe, mainly Provence and Italy. A sonnet commonly has 14 lines. The term "sonnet" derives from the Occitan word sonet and the Italian word sonetto, both meaning "little song" or "little sound"...
s), and he designed and engineered buildings and a dam at his farm in Old Lyme, Connecticut.
He died in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
in 1969.
Work
He is remembered for his work with Joannes Gregorius Dusser de Barenne from Yale and later with Walter PittsWalter Pitts
Walter Harry Pitts, Jr. was a logician who worked in the field of cognitive psychology.He proposed landmark theoretical formulations of neural activity and emergent processes that influenced diverse fields such as cognitive sciences and psychology, philosophy, neurosciences, computer science,...
from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
. Here he provided the foundation for certain brain theories in a number of classic papers, including "A Logical Calculus of the Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity" (1943) and "How We Know Universals: The Perception of Auditory and Visual Forms" (1947), both published in the Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics. The former is "widely credited with being a seminal contribution to neural network theory, the theory of automata, the theory of computation, and cybernetics".
Neural network modelling
In the 1943 paper they attempted to demonstrate that a Turing machineTuring machine
A Turing machine is a theoretical device that manipulates symbols on a strip of tape according to a table of rules. Despite its simplicity, a Turing machine can be adapted to simulate the logic of any computer algorithm, and is particularly useful in explaining the functions of a CPU inside a...
program could be implemented in a finite network of formal neuron
Neuron
A neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling. Chemical signaling occurs via synapses, specialized connections with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form networks. Neurons are the core components of the nervous...
s, (in the event, the Turing Machine contains their model of the brain, but the converse is not true) that the neuron was the base logic unit of the brain. In the 1947 paper they offered approaches to designing "nervous nets" to recognize visual inputs despite changes in orientation or size.
From 1952 he worked at the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT
Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT
The Research Laboratory of Electronics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was founded in 1946 as the successor to the famed MIT Radiation Laboratory of World War II....
, working primarily on neural network
Neural network
The term neural network was traditionally used to refer to a network or circuit of biological neurons. The modern usage of the term often refers to artificial neural networks, which are composed of artificial neurons or nodes...
modelling. His team examined the visual system of the frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
in consideration of McCulloch's 1947 paper, discovering that the eye provides the brain with information that is already, to a degree, organized and interpreted, instead of simply transmitting an image.
Reticular formation
McCulloch also posited the concept of "poker chip" reticular formationReticular formation
The reticular formation is a part of the brain that is involved in actions such as awaking/sleeping cycle, and filtering incoming stimuli to discriminate irrelevant background stimuli...
s as to how the brain deals with contradictory information in a democratic, somatotopical neural network. His principle of "Redundancy of Potential Command" was developed by von Forster
Heinz von Foerster
Heinz von Foerster was an Austrian American scientist combining physics and philosophy. Together with Warren McCulloch, Norbert Wiener, John von Neumann, Lawrence J. Fogel, and others, Heinz von Foerster was an architect of cybernetics.-Biography:Von Foerster was born in 1911 in Vienna, Austria,...
and Pask
Gordon Pask
Andrew Gordon Speedie Pask was an English cybernetician and psychologist who made significant contributions to cybernetics, instructional psychology, experimental epistemology and educational technology....
in their study of Self-organization
Self-organization
Self-organization is the process where a structure or pattern appears in a system without a central authority or external element imposing it through planning...
.
Publications
McCulloch wrote a book and several articles:- 1965, Embodiments of Mind. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
- 1993, The complete works of Warren S. McCulloch. Intersystems Publications: Salinas, CA.
Articles, a selection:
- 1943, "A Logical Calculus of the Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity". With: Walter PittsWalter PittsWalter Harry Pitts, Jr. was a logician who worked in the field of cognitive psychology.He proposed landmark theoretical formulations of neural activity and emergent processes that influenced diverse fields such as cognitive sciences and psychology, philosophy, neurosciences, computer science,...
. In: Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics Vol 5, pp 115–133. - 1945, "A Heterarchy of Values Determined by the Topology of Nervous Nets". In: Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics, 7, 1945, 89–93.
- 1959, "What The Frog's Eye Tells The Frog's Brain". With Jerome LettvinJerome LettvinJerome Ysroael Lettvin was a cognitive scientist and professor Emeritus of Electrical and Bioengineering and Communications Physiology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . He is best known as the author of the 1959 paper, "What the frog's eye tells the frog's brain", one of the most...
, H.R. MaturanaHumberto MaturanaHumberto Maturana is a Chilean biologist and philosopher. He is considered a member of the second wave of cybernetics, known for developing a theory of autopoiesis about the nature of reflexive feedback control in living systems.- Biography :After completing secondary school at the Liceo Manuel de...
and W.H. Pitts [It is widely known that the actual authors of this work were only Lettvin and Maturana.] In: Proc. of the I. R. E. Vol 47 (11). - 1969, "Recollections of the Many Sources of Cybernetics", published in: ASC FORUM Volume VI, Number 2 -Summer 1974.
Papers published by the Chicago Literary Club:
- 1945, "One Word After Another".
- 1959, "The Past of a Delusion".
- 1959, "The Natural Fit".
Further reading
- New York Times (1969), Obituaries, September 25.
- Crevier, Daniel (1993), AI: The Tumultuous Search for Artificial Intelligence, BasicBooks, New York, NY.