why did conversation theory from gordon pask wasn't more popular?

• Conversation Theory - Gordon Pask
  • Cybernetics = where he conceived human-machine interaction as a form of conversation, a dynamic process, in which the participants learn about each other.
  • Conversation Theory
    • Natural sciences +
    • Social sciences +
    • Humanities
    • Conversation
    • Theory
  • Cybernetics Framework
    • Living Organisms + Machines
    • Conversation Theory
  • He wishes to develop
    • a social cybernetics that would help combat terrorism, oppression and social conflict.
  • Vision
    • his vision was of a healthy society, in which there is unity without uniformity, love, peace, and justice for all.
  • Science of communication
    • Cybernetics can be defined as the theoretical study of control processes in electronic, mechanical, & biological systems. It comes from the Greek word meaning steersman.
  • Cybernetics
    • Conversation Theory as developed by Pask originated from this cybernetics framework and attempts to explain learning in both living organisms and machines.
    • The fundamental idea of the theory was that learning occurs through conversations about a subject matter which serves to make knowledge explicit.
  • Conversations = 3 levels
    • Natural Language ( general discussion)
    • Object Languages ( for discussing the subject matter)
    • Meta-languages (for talking about learning / language)
  • Two Types of Learning Strategies
    • Two types of Learning Strategies:
      • Serialists – progress through a structure in a sequential fashion
      • Holists – Look for higher order relations
    • Preferred manner Serialists vs Holists concepts concepts
      • For students to learn to learn a subject matter, they must learn the relationships among the concepts.
      • For teachers, the explicit explanation of the subject matter facilitates student Understanding (e.g., use of teachback technique)

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• Cybernetics is a field concerned with “control and communication in the animal and the machine”.
  • It has also been described as the study of circular causal and feedback mechanisms in biological and social systems, as well as the study of systems capable of receiving, storing, and processing information for control.
• The post suggests that cybernetics may be filling the “God shaped hole” left by decreasing religious influence in modern society.
• The user expresses concern that the principles of cybernetics are being utilized by a few individuals to steer humanity towards a direction of “automata”.
• A reddit commenter suggests that cybernetics, being an old idea, may no longer be on the rise and is instead getting bogged down with technological application realities.
• Another commenter suggests that few people have taken a deep dive into cybernetics despite certain individuals utilizing aspects of the field in their work in fields such as political and social media strategy.
• Some of the comment thread discusses the phenomenon of feedback loops in human behavior and society and how cybernetics may help describe these issues.

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What is the current state of cybernetics in universities?

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What are the current movements that connect with cybernetics?

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What challenges did cybernetics face in traditional university structures?

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What other academic disciplines opposed cybernetics?

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What practical applications of cybernetics have been used, but not attributed to cybernetics?

• No book of Gordon Pask’s is currently in print, and he is not well-known.
  • Pask and Stafford Beer were innovators in cybernetics.
• Cybernetics was once popular in the mid-20th century but then declined in popularity.
  • Cybernetics faced opposition from other academic disciplines.
  • Finding a place for cybernetics within traditional university structures proved difficult.
  • There are few universities in the USA offering PhDs in cybernetics, although MIT offers a PhD in system dynamics.
• Practical applications of cybernetics are often used, but rarely attributed to cybernetics.
  • Some corporations apply cybernetic principles covertly.
• There are a few movements that connect with cybernetics (art programs, control theory, etc.).
• The American Society for Cybernetics is still active.
• The name “cybernetics” seems to be more of an ancient relict.
• There is an active journal called “Biological Cybernetics” and the “MPI for Cybernetics in Tübingen.”
• There is an electronics journal that some question whether it is cybernetics-related or not.

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What made Gordon Pask's Conversation Theory less popular?