Pask Award | Gordon

When he died in 1996, the cybernetics community faced a problem: how do you honor a man whose entire career was an argument against siloed expertise? The answer came in the form of an award that mirrored its subject. The Gordon Pask Award was established two years after Pask’s death, in 1998 , under the joint stewardship of the American Society for Cybernetics (ASC) and the Cybernetics Society (UK). The inaugural award was presented posthumously to Pask himself, with subsequent awards given to individuals who embodied his spirit.

As Pask once wrote in a characteristically cryptic note: "To understand is to perceive the relations between the relations." gordon pask award

The award, in its small but powerful way, celebrates those who help us perceive those relations—who design the spaces, the tools, and the courage to keep the conversation going. In a world that desperately needs less monologue and more dialogue, the Gordon Pask Award is a beacon for what is possible. When he died in 1996, the cybernetics community