Heinz von Foerster

Heinz von Foerster was not an actor or director but a prominent Austrian-American scientist known for his work in cybernetics and systems theory. Born on November 13, 1911, in Vienna, Austria, he was a key figure in the development of second-order cybernetics. Von Foerster's research focused on self-organizing systems, cognition, and the interplay between observers and systems. He authored numerous influential papers and books in these fields. He was a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was instrumental in the establishment of the Biological Computer Laboratory there. Von Foerster made significant contributions to the understanding of human and artificial intelligence until his death on October 2, 2002.