Haneef Akhtar Fatmi (1933–95) was a Pakistani engineer and cyberneticist known for contributions to cybernetics, intelligence theory, and computing principles.
Born in Bhopal State, Fatmi earned an Electrical Engineering degree from Karachi University (1951.) He later studied at Imperial College London, working with Nobel Laureates Dennis Gabor and Abdus Salam. His doctoral research on ionized gases helped establish the Cybernetics Society in London.
Fatmi’s work in cybernetics and intelligence theory gained recognition when he co-authored A Definition of Intelligence (1970) with R.W. Young, published in Nature. The widely cited definition—“Intelligence is that faculty, of mind, by which order is perceived in a situation previously considered disordered”—was included in the Oxford Companion to the Mind.
His publications include A Thermionic Generator (1961,) The Theory of Gas Discharges with Extraneous Ion Supply (1964,) The Concept of a Creative Society (1974,) and A New Computing Principle (1988,) co-authored with G. Resconi.
Fatmi was also a linguistic scholar, earning a B.A. in Arabic Studies (1985) and publishing an English translation of the Holy Quran before his passing.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Haneef Fatmi
Intelligence is that faculty of mind, by which order is perceived in a situation previously considered disordered.
—Haneef Fatmi
Topics: Intellectuals, Intelligence
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