The Beginning of Heaven and Earth Has No Name: Seven Days with Second-Order Cybernetics

Preface to the American Edition

Preface to the American Edition Heinz von Foerster invoked the metaphor of a fairy who through her magic powers accomplished a series of nearly impossible results, all of them contributing to the German edition of this book in the year 1997. Nevertheless, the most remarkable product of our faithful book fairy was the English translation of the German original. For this she needed to find persons with an impossible mix of qualities, ranging from a keen interest in Heinz von Foerster and from high competencies both in German and English to very rare features like an abiding interest in pursuing professional work even without any financial compensation. Our fairy godmother managed to identify Michael Kasenbacher and Elinor Rooks, probably the only persons with this particular combination of capabilities and skills, and provided them with sufficient strength to pursue the project of an English translation of our book against all odds and barriers . In combination these two translators managed to produce an astonishing result, namely a complete transfer from the frames and schemes of a German-Austrian book to the appropriate English contexts. We can simply express our deep gratitude to both Elinor and Michael . Special thanks also go to Bruce Clarke, who accepted this volume in his series, and to Fordham University Press for including this book in its program. Albert Müller and K arl H. Müller Vienna, August 2012 ...