This series seems to explore how machines and computers have shaped society around us. Cybernetics is just another example of the ideology of machines seriously influencing individuals. This episode really showed the cultural impact of cybernetics, but what fascinated me the most was it stemming from an ecological standpoint. It's easy to make the connection with how everything around us in nature is interconnected and this theory of cybernetics has influenced culture and areas of academic study like psychology and anthropology. Not only that, but cybernetics has influenced the nature of knowledge and cognition. This field is about the representation and embodiment of knowledge and cognition in computers; and how we design computers for interaction. It was so interesting to see the path that theory took from just stemming from ecosystems all the way to networks of computers.
Forrester’s theory on overpopulation is reminiscent of Thomas Malthus’ theory, which similar end goals of zero growth in order for the Earth to be balanced. I feel that it was the strong belief for the world to be balanced in such chaos that made it so appealing. Especially as the world was entering this new age of computers, and when there are always new paradigms on the way, it is human nature to cling onto something that we can believe in. However, this is also the first time I have ever heard about