John Alexander Vincent Bates (1918–1993) was an English neurophysiologist based at the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases from 1946 until his retirement.[1] He was educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge, and went on to complete his clinical training at University College Hospital, London.[2] He became the chief electroencephalographer at the hospital, studying human EEG in relation to voluntary movement. In 1949, he founded the Ratio Club, a dining club of British scientists interested in cybernetics.[3]
Papers relating to Bates and the Ratio Club are held at the Wellcome Library.[4]
References
- P. W. Nathan, "John Alexander Vincent Bates", Munk's Roll, Vol. IX, p.32.
- "Papers of John A. V. Bates (1918–1993) and the 'Ratio Club'". Archives Hub. Retrieved 9 December 2025.
- Phil Husbands and Owen Holland, "The Ratio Club: A Hub of British Cybernetics", in Husbands, Holland & Wheeler (eds.) The Mechanical Mind in History, MIT Press, 2008, pp. 91–148.
- Bates, John A. V., and the Ratio Club