Cybernetics has nothing to do with Internet. Cyber-cafe, etc.
Definition from Wikipedia
Cybernetics is the trans-disciplinary study of regulatory systems, feedback mechanisms, and communication in both living organisms and machines. It explores how systems process information, adapt to their environments, and achieve stability.
Does it look like a Control Theory? Yes, exactly. Control theory was influenced by Cybernetics.
A thermostat is a tiny cybernetic system. Desired temperature → Sensor → Compare → Action → Room changes → Sensor again
If you set it to 72°F:
- Sensor measures the room: 68°F
- Controller detects a 4°F difference
- Heater turns on
- Room warms
- Sensor measures again
- Heater turns off when the target is reached
That feedback loop is the central idea of cybernetics.
Cybernetics is about understanding how a system uses information about its own behavior to regulate and adapt itself.
This concept is closely related to Systems Thinking.