The History and Future of Technology

The History and Future of Technology
Author :
Publisher : Springer Nature
Total Pages : 830
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9783030713935
ISBN-13 : 3030713938
Rating : 4/5 (35 Downloads)

Book Synopsis The History and Future of Technology by : Robert U. Ayres

Download or read book The History and Future of Technology written by Robert U. Ayres and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2021-07-27 with total page 830 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eminent physicist and economist, Robert Ayres, examines the history of technology as a change agent in society, focusing on societal roots rather than technology as an autonomous, self-perpetuating phenomenon. With rare exceptions, technology is developed in response to societal needs that have evolutionary roots and causes. In our genus Homo, language evolved in response to a need for our ancestors to communicate, both in the moment, and to posterity. A band of hunters had no chance in competition with predators that were larger and faster without this type of organization, which eventually gave birth to writing and music. The steam engine did not leap fully formed from the brain of James Watt. It evolved from a need to pump water out of coal mines, driven by a need to burn coal instead of firewood, in turn due to deforestation. Later, the steam engine made machines and mechanization possible. Even quite simple machines increased human productivity by a factor of hundreds, if not thousands. That was the Industrial Revolution. If we count electricity and the automobile as a second industrial revolution, and the digital computer as the beginning of a third, the world is now on the cusp of a fourth revolution led by microbiology. These industrial revolutions have benefited many in the short term, but devastated the Earth’s ecosystems. Can technology save the human race from the catastrophic consequences of its past success? That is the question this book will try to answer.


The History and Future of Technology Related Books

The History and Future of Technology
Language: en
Pages: 830
Authors: Robert U. Ayres
Categories: Technology & Engineering
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-07-27 - Publisher: Springer Nature

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Eminent physicist and economist, Robert Ayres, examines the history of technology as a change agent in society, focusing on societal roots rather than technolog
Technology and the Historian
Language: en
Pages: 231
Authors: Adam Crymble
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-04-13 - Publisher: University of Illinois Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Charting the evolution of practicing digital history Historians have seen their field transformed by the digital age. Research agendas, teaching and learning, s
Technology and Society
Language: en
Pages: 337
Authors: Andrew Ede
Categories: History
Type: BOOK - Published: 2019-11-07 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Celebrates the creativity of humanity by examining the history of technology as a strategy to solve real-world problems.
The Evolution of Technology
Language: en
Pages: 262
Authors: George Basalla
Categories: Technology & Engineering
Type: BOOK - Published: 1989-02-24 - Publisher: Cambridge University Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book presents an evolutionary theory of technological change based upon recent scholarship in the history of technology and upon relevant material drawn fr
Technology in World Civilization, revised and expanded edition
Language: en
Pages: 357
Authors: Arnold Pacey
Categories: Technology & Engineering
Type: BOOK - Published: 2021-08-03 - Publisher: MIT Press

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The new edition of a milestone work on the global history of technology. This milestone history of technology, first published in 1990 and now revised and expan