Discussion:
First-order and second-order cybernetics
1. Compare and contrast first-order and second-order cybernetics, citing the qualities and characteristics of each.
2. Describe an interaction you have observed, from a first-order perspective. Then, describe it from a second-order perspective, including
yourself in the description, this time. For example:
First-order: A mom is watching her two children. The older child hits the younger one, to obtain a toy. The younger child runs, and is chased by the first child.
Second-order: We were having breakfast and there was a lot of tension between the kids at the table. My older child was hitting the younger one, so I corrected him, and told the younger child to give the toy to his sibling. He ran, instead, as did the older one--and now I am running after both of them.