Hermann Schmidt (cyberneticist)

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Hermann Schmidt

Hermann Schmidt (born December 9, 1894 in Hanau ; † May 31, 1968 in Berlin ) was a German physicist , holder of the first professorship for control engineering and the founder of cybernetics in Germany.

life and work

Gustav-Adolf Heinrich Hermann Schmidt was born in Hanau as the son of a high school director. He studied physics and philosophy at the University of Göttingen and was a member of the Corps Hannovera Göttingen . In 1913 he did his military service with the railway regiment in Hanau and then took part in the First World War as a reserve officer . He then did his doctorate at the Philosophical Faculty of Göttingen University. He then worked experimentally and theoretically at the Düsseldorf Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Iron Research in the field of pyrometry , which is now the Max Planck Institute for Iron Research .

In 1929 he completed his habilitation in technical physics at RWTH Aachen University . In 1934 he became a councilor in the Reich Patent Office in Berlin . His interest there was directed towards the automatic control that spanned various engineering disciplines. Schmidt also became a private lecturer at the Technical University of Berlin-Charlottenburg in 1935 .

His lectures there also gave an introduction to problems in control engineering . This later became his specialty, which he originally called "General Regulatory Studies", and which he related to regulations in technical systems as well as in living beings. This field of science has been known internationally as cybernetics since the 1950s .

In addition to him, Adolf Leonhard also offered courses on control engineering at the TH Stuttgart , but specifically for the field of electrical engineering . In 1940 he also published a textbook on this, which he continued in a generalized form after the Second World War. Oldenbourg and Sartorius had already published a general control theory as a book in 1944. Mathematical methods of control engineering, including criteria for the stability of a vibrating system, had already been developed by physicists in the 19th century.

In 1939 Schmidt became chairman of the technical committee for control engineering in the Association of German Engineers (VDI); As an important work result, a standardized nomenclature for the new subject was created. In 1941 Schmidt also submitted a “memorandum on the establishment of an institute for control engineering” to the VDI.

In November 1944, he was appointed full professor at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Berlin-Charlottenburg. This was the first chair for control engineering in Germany . His control engineering lectures were attended by 200 people just before the end of the war in April 1945.

After the Second World War, the TH, now TU Berlin (West), prevented him from returning to his professorship for several years. During this time Schmidt wrote chapters for a textbook on control engineering for the Soviet occupying power. He got his professorship back in 1953; It is noteworthy that the position was not assigned to a faculty, which was in line with its interdisciplinary character. Schmidt's lectures were always well received, and he held them well beyond his official retirement in 1960, even until a few months before his death in May 1968. Overall, Schmidt can also be counted among the early pioneers of automation technology in Germany.

The first institute for control engineering in Germany , as suggested by Schmidt in his memorandum of 1941, was not founded at the TH Dresden until 1955 as a result of the war , with Heinrich Kindler as - initially acting - director. This first institute stood at the beginning of a whole series of German-speaking institutes for the subject: in 1957, the TH Darmstadt followed almost simultaneously with Winfried Oppelt (1912–1999) and the RWTH Aachen with Otto Schäfer (1909–2000). These foundations then continued in quick succession at other technical universities, which means that the proposal formulated by Hermann Schmidt in his memorandum 20 years earlier became broadly effective.

On the basis of control engineering, insofar as its principles can be transferred to non-technical, living systems, cybernetics later developed , the founding of which in the 1940s is mostly attributed to the US mathematician Norbert Wiener . Such a transfer, but under the name “General Control Loop Theory” and with other evaluations, was developed in parallel - and without any contact with the Wiener Arbeitskreis - by Hermann Schmidt. So one can see Schmidt as the father of German cybernetics.

Schmidt was less well known than other cybernetics authors of his time, especially compared to Norbert Wiener , of course, and he only published in German. His strengths were the lectures and his oral presentation. Even from his pyrometry days, he found it difficult to achieve the closed book form. Helmar Frank (1966, 1994), a colleague and a generation younger, had Schmidt's early writings reprinted. The German Society for Cybernetics , founded by Frank in 1994, regularly awards the “Wiener Schmidt Prize” for achievements in the field of cybernetics. Schmidt's estate, the majority of which is in the archive of the TU Berlin, consists of hundreds of folders with notes, dispositions, half-finished manuscripts and correspondence.

Schmidt also wrote poetry from his time as a soldier. In 1946 the following lines were written, documented by Erika Schmidt in the “Rote Tagebuch” (family property), which were addressed to the child of friends: Above all, you have to laugh heartily, / because the big world lacks that / the one with its serious things / considers himself too important.

Grave of Hermann Schmidt in the Heerstrasse cemetery in Berlin-Westend

Hermann Schmidt was married to Erika Schmidt , born in 1942 . Gap house. The marriage resulted in three children: H. Michael (* 1944), Joachim F. (* 1945) and Gabriele H. (* 1950). H. Schmidt died in Berlin at the end of May 1968 at the age of 73. His grave is in the state-owned cemetery Heerstraße in Berlin-Westend (Section 14).

Its philosophical basis: change in people through technology

Hermann Schmidt was not only a physicist and control engineer , but also a philosopher from his studies , and he remained so into old age. He himself was reluctant to refer to his field of work as cybernetics , rather as "general control loop theory". In this, the circular causality , known long before control engineering, forms the central term. Schmidt invokes well-known spirits of German idealism : According to Johann Gottfried Herder , human intellectual achievements are based on district causality, in that speaking takes place in the sound-hearing circle and the intellect develops in the speech-thinking circle. Schmidt refers to a postulate of the theologian and philosopher Friedrich Schleiermacher , according to which man accomplishes the "arming of nature for his reason" through his work and technical inventions. The sociologist and cultural philosopher Arnold Gehlen was one of the first supporters of Schmidt's concept of technology as a progressive objectification of human work.

In 1967, in his last major article, a year before his death, Schmidt outlined the main features of his teaching. The concern of the "General Control Loop Theory" is one requirement : Man should become more fully aware of the importance of the technology he has created . Because so far the technology has mostly been perceived no differently than the means to the respective end. People have to understand that technology will change them in the long run. Schmidt speaks of a hysteresis in our consciousness. It lags behind the state of the real human world, which is increasingly being filled with technology. The philosopher Gotthardt Günther (1963) took a similar position among Schmidt's contemporaries : “This process of transforming the original nature into a second artificial nature takes up ever more spaces.” According to Günther, the technology of the future will have “profound consequences for the identity consciousness” of people to have.

Hermann Schmidt, handwriting in his notebook (Sept. 1951)

Schmidt fends off the fear of technocracy in the controversial questions about man and machine. In his view, the machines are not primarily a source of danger; on the contrary, technology will offer people the way - already today, especially in the future - to use Schleiermacher, the "preparation" to renew themselves spiritually to develop an understanding of oneself that fits the technical world. Schmidt contrasted technology with the invention of language as an “assessment of technology” (in his notebook of September 1951) - and noted the following: “What Aesop is supposed to have said about language tools applies to technology and its tools: the best and the worst in the whole world . ”Aesop Greek fable poet of the 6th century BC G.

Schmidt's contribution to early control engineering has been highlighted in the publications by W. Kriesel et al . (1995), F. Dittmann (1995; 1997; 1999–2000; 2016) and K. Reinschke (2005). KH Fasol wrote a concise short biography in 2001. F. Dittmann played Schmidt's role in the development of cybernetics in Germany, KH Fasol particularly emphasized Schmidt's “pioneering achievement”. CC Bissell introduced Schmidt's “Proto-Cybernetics” to the English-speaking world. In addition, F. Dittmann and J. Ségal have also published Schmidt's basic services for the French-speaking world. Using the rectorate files of the TU Berlin, K. Reinschke delved into Schmidt's difficult, jobless years after 1945. K. Liggieri pursued the questions of how the control engineering of Hermann Schmidt with his model of the control loop positioned itself between theory and practice, what ideas about people and technology developed from this and what differences to US-American cybernetics (especially Norbert Wiener ) can be made out.

Fonts (selection)

  • The total heat radiation of solid bodies. Results of Exact Science, vol. 7, 1928, pp. 342-383.
  • Control engineering as a technical and biological basic problem. Lectures at the meeting of the scientific advisory board of the VDI on October 17, 1940. VDI magazine, vol. 85, volume 4, 1940.
  • Memorandum for the establishment of an institute for control engineering. VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1941, reprinted in GrKG 2, supplement, Verlag Schnelle 1961.
  • Hermann Schmidt et al .: Control engineering. Terms and designations. VDI-Verlag, Berlin 1944.
  • The transformation of people through technology. Journal of the VDI 96, no. 5, 1954, pp. 118-122.
  • Cybernetics as an anthropological problem. In: school models, programmed instruction and technical media. Ehrenwirth-Verlag, Munich 1967; the work also appeared as a preprint in Pedagogue. Worksheets, GEW Baden-Württemberg, vol. 19 (1967) no. 8, 1967, pp. 121-136.

literature

  • Helmar Frank : Cybernetics and Philosophy - Materials and Floor Plan for a Philosophy of Cybernetics. Berlin 1966.
  • Helmar Frank : The fathers of cybernetics were born 100 years ago. GrKG vol. 35, no. 4, 1994, pp. 173-174.
  • Heinrich Kindler : The control loop. An introduction. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1972.
  • Reinschke, Kurt: Linear regulation and control theory. Springer-Vieweg 2005, 2nd edition 2014.
  • Karl Heinz Fasol , Rudolf Lauber; Franz Mesch, Heinrich Rake , Manfred Thoma , Heinz Töpfer : Great Names and the Early Days of Control in Germany. In: Automation technology, Munich. Vol. 54, No. 9, 2006, pp. 462-472.
  • Reinschke, Kurt: Memory of Heinrich Kindler . In: Automation technology, Munich. Vol. 50, No. 6, 2002, pp. 345-347.
  • Karl Heinz Fasol :  Hermann Schmidt. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 23, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-428-11204-3 , p. 191 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Kevin Liggieri: The control loop as the 'universal structure of technology'. Access to man and machine between 'general regulatory studies' and philosophical anthropology with Hermann Schmidt. In: Yearbook of technology philosophy; Alexander Friedrich, Petra Gehring, Christoph Hubig, Andreas Kaminski, Alfred Nordmann (eds.): Taxes and rules. 5th year 2019, pp. 17–37. Funded by the VDI. edition sigma in Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, Baden-Baden 2019, ISBN 978-3-8487-5531-8 (print), ISBN 978-3-8452-9654-8 (ePDF).

Web links

Commons : Hermann Schmidt  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Adolf Leonhard : The automatic control in electrical engineering. J. Springer, Berlin 1940.
  2. ↑ Adolf Leonhard : The automatic regulation. Theoretical basics with practical examples. Springer, Berlin; Göttingen; Heidelberg 1949, 2nd edition 1957, 3rd edition 1962, ISBN 978-3-642-92841-3 .
  3. ↑ RC Oldenbourg, H. Sartorius: Dynamics of automatic controls. Oldenbourg-Verlag, Munich, Berlin 1944.
  4. ↑ Werner Kriesel ; Hans Rohr; Andreas Koch: History and future of measurement and automation technology . VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1995, p. 13 ff, ISBN 3-18-150047-X .
  5. ↑ Frank Dittmann: On the development of the “general regulatory knowledge” in Germany. Hermann Schmidt and the “Memorandum for the establishment of an institute for control engineering”. In: Wiss. TU Dresden magazine. Vol. 44, No. 6, 1995, pp. 88-94.
  6. ↑ Frank Dittmann: Golem, Homunculus and Robot - On the discourse about artificial beings 100 years ago. In: Frank Fuchs-Kittowski , Werner Kriesel (Hrsg.): Computer science and society. Festschrift for the 80th birthday of Klaus Fuchs-Kittowski . Frankfurt a. M., Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Warszawa, Vienna: Peter Lang Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften, PL Academic Research 2016, pp. 123-136, ISBN 978-3-631-66719-4 (print), E- ISBN 978-3-653-06277-9 (e-book).
  7. ^ Karl Heinz Fasol : Hermann Schmidt, natural scientist and philosopher - pioneer of general control loop theory in Germany. In: Automation Technology Munich . Vol. 49, No. 3, 2001, pp. 138-144.
  8. ^ Karl Heinz Fasol :  Hermann Schmidt. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 23, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2007, ISBN 978-3-428-11204-3 , p. 191 f. ( Digitized version ).
  9. ^ Heinrich Kindler : Collection of exercises on control engineering. Verlag Technik Berlin, Oldenbourg-Verlag Munich, Vienna, 1964 (with H. Buchta and H.-H. Wilfert).
  10. ^ Winfried Oppelt : Small manual of technical control processes. Verlag Chemie, Weinheim 1954, 4th edition, Verlag Chemie, Weinheim and Verlag Technik, Berlin 1964, 5th edition 1972, ISBN 3-527-25347-5 .
  11. ↑ Otto Schäfer : Basics of the automatic regulation. Technischer Verlag Heinz Resch, Graefelfing 1953, 7th edition 1974.
  12. ↑ Werner Kriesel ; Hans Rohr; Andreas Koch: History and future of measurement and automation technology. VDI-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1995, pp. 33-132, ISBN 3-18-150047-X .
  13. ↑ Manfred Peschel , Felix Breitenecker: Kreisdynamik. Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1990, ISBN 978-3-05-500703-3 .
  14. ↑ Frank Dittmann: The role of medicine and physiology in the development of early cybernetic thinking in Germany. Deutsches Museum, Munich 2016.
  15. ↑ Arnold Gehlen : The soul in the technical age. Hamburg 1957; there chap. I.4. Newly published in the Gehlen Complete Edition, published by KS Rehberg , there Volume 6, Frankfurt am Main 2004.
  16. ^ Gotthard Günther: The consciousness of the machines. Krefeld and Baden-Baden 1963; there Part III “Idealism, Materialism and Cybernetics”.
  17. ^ Frank Dittmann: Aspects of the early history of cybernetics. Trans. Newcomen Soc. vol. 71, 1999-2000, pp. 143-154.
  18. ^ Karl Heinz Fasol : Hermann Schmidt, pioneer in control and cybernetics. IEEE Control Systems Magazine, vol. 22, no.2D, 2002, pp. 24 - 28.
  19. ^ CC Bissell: Hermann Schmidt and German "Proto-Cybernetics". Information, Communication and Society, vol. 14, no. 1, 2011, pp. 156-171.
  20. ^ Frank Dittmann; J. Ségal: Hermann Schmidt et la théorie génerale de la regulation: Une cybernétique allemande en 1940 ?. Ann. Sci., Vol. 54, 1997, pp. 547-565.
  21. ↑ Kurt Reinschke: Private correspondence with the son of H. Michael Schmidt. Dresden - Versmold 2014/2015.
personal data
SURNAME Schmidt, Hermann
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German physicist, control engineer and cyberneticist
DATE OF BIRTH December 9, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH Hanau
DATE OF DEATH May 31, 1968
Place of death Berlin