Page 23 - Modern Robotics Building Versatile Macines

A NEW SCIENCE 3

science books and magazines were his favorites—particularly
natural history.
Surprisingly, young Wiener’s math skills fell short of his liter-
ary attainments. Wiener’s father decided to intervene in his son’s
education. Under this attention, the boy progressed rapidly in math
and other fields, but it was not without cost. In the first volume of
his autobiography, Ex-Prodigy, published in 1953, Norbert Wiener
recalled typical algebra sessions with his father:

Every mistake had to be corrected as it was made. He would begin
the discussion in an easy, conversational tone. This lasted exactly
until I made the first mathematical mistake. Then the gentle and lov-
ing father was replaced by the avenger of the blood. The first warn-
ing he gave me of my unconscious delinquency was a very sharp and
aspirated “What!” and if I did not follow this by coming to heel at
once, he would admonish me, “Now do this again!” By this time I
was weeping and terrified.

Words of praise were few and far between, while shame and
humiliation were often prolonged. In his autobiography, Wiener
would express great respect for his father, but he would also recount
the psychological pain involved in their relationship. Throughout
his life, Wiener would also suffer from what is today called bipolar
disorder, characterized by steep mood swings.
Unlike some child prodigies, young Wiener was energetic and
enjoyed physical activity such as hiking and exploring the coun-
tryside, as well as taking part in farm chores. Unfortunately, the
boy was physically clumsy, in part because of his poor eyesight. As
Wiener later observed in his first autobiography:

Muscular dexterity . . . depends on the whole chain which starts in
the eye, goes through the muscular action, and there continues in the
scanning by the eye of the results of this muscular action. It is not
only necessary for the muscular arc and the visual arc to be perfect,
each by itself, but it is equally necessary that the relations between the
two be precise and constant.