The History and Future of Technology

The History and Future of Technology
Author: Robert U. Ayres
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages:
Release: 2021
Genre: Technology
ISBN: 3030713938

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 Earths 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.

War Made New

War Made New
Author: Max Boot
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 640
Release: 2006-10-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1101216832

A monumental, groundbreaking work, now in paperback, that shows how technological and strategic revolutions have transformed the battlefield Combining gripping narrative history with wide-ranging analysis, War Made New focuses on four "revolutions" in military affairs and describes how inventions ranging from gunpowder to GPS-guided air strikes have remade the field of battle—and shaped the rise and fall of empires. War Made New begins with the Gunpowder Revolution and explains warfare's evolution from ritualistic, drawn-out engagements to much deadlier events, precipitating the rise of the modern nation-state. He next explores the triumph of steel and steam during the Industrial Revolution, showing how it powered the spread of European colonial empires. Moving into the twentieth century and the Second Industrial Revolution, Boot examines three critical clashes of World War II to illustrate how new technology such as the tank, radio, and airplane ushered in terrifying new forms of warfare and the rise of centralized, and even totalitarian, world powers. Finally, Boot focuses on the Gulf War, the invasion of Afghanistan, and the Iraq War—arguing that even as cutting-edge technologies have made America the greatest military power in world history, advanced communications systems have allowed decentralized, "irregular" forces to become an increasingly significant threat.

Cool Technology

Cool Technology
Author: Jenny Jacoby
Publisher: Rizzoli Publications
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022-02-01
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1843655152

The latest title in the Cool… series introduces the creative and inventive world of technology with fun facts, timelines, experiments to try at home, and more! Technology is all about inventing new devices and tools—things that we use every single day! From Stone Age tech, such as hand axes and sewing needles, to microcomputers and nanotechnology, get stuck into the intriguing, exciting, and ingenious world of Cool Technology. From biographies of figures such as Bill Gates, Annie Easley, and Josephine Cochrane, to landmark technological advances such as the Iron Age, the Industrial Revolution, and personal computers, this book is sure to be the perfect gift for any budding inventor and tech-head. The book covers digital tech, electronics, robotics, biotechnology, nanotechnology, medical technology, virtual reality, and inclusive tech. Other titles in the series include: Cool Architecture; Cool Nature; Cool Coding; Cool Philosophy, Cool Art, Cool Mythology, Cool Engineering; Cool Astronomy; Cool Physics; Cool Science; Cool Math

The History and Future of Medical Technology

The History and Future of Medical Technology
Author: Ira S. Brodsky
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2010
Genre: Medical instruments and apparatus
ISBN: 9780980038316

The History and Future of Medical Technology tells the story behind today's advanced medical technologies: how they were developed, how they work their magic, and how they are likely to evolve over the next several years. The book gives readers a front row view of the discoveries and inventions that transformed medicine into an exact science. It demystifies the technologies found in modern hospitals and clinics showing how they satisfy real and pressing needs. And it covers the latest advances in areas including robotic surgery, brain-computer interface chips, artificial retinas, and nanomedicine.

Technology and the Future

Technology and the Future
Author: Albert H. Teich
Publisher: Wadsworth Publishing Company
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2003
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780534604264

Examining how technology shapes society while itself being shaped by social trends, this text presents a balanced view, including critics of technology as well as technological enthusiasts.

Technology and Society

Technology and Society
Author: Deborah G. Johnson
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 853
Release: 2008-10-17
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0262303388

An anthology of writings by thinkers ranging from Freeman Dyson to Bruno Latour that focuses on the interconnections of technology, society, and values and how these may affect the future. Technological change does not happen in a vacuum; decisions about which technologies to develop, fund, market, and use engage ideas about values as well as calculations of costs and benefits. This anthology focuses on the interconnections of technology, society, and values. It offers writings by authorities as varied as Freeman Dyson, Laurence Lessig, Bruno Latour, and Judy Wajcman that will introduce readers to recent thinking about technology and provide them with conceptual tools, a theoretical framework, and knowledge to help understand how technology shapes society and how society shapes technology. It offers readers a new perspective on such current issues as globalization, the balance between security and privacy, environmental justice, and poverty in the developing world. The careful ordering of the selections and the editors' introductions give Technology and Society a coherence and flow that is unusual in anthologies. The book is suitable for use in undergraduate courses in STS and other disciplines. The selections begin with predictions of the future that range from forecasts of technological utopia to cautionary tales. These are followed by writings that explore the complexity of sociotechnical systems, presenting a picture of how technology and society work in step, shaping and being shaped by one another. Finally, the book goes back to considerations of the future, discussing twenty-first-century challenges that include nanotechnology, the role of citizens in technological decisions, and the technologies of human enhancement.

The Future of Change

The Future of Change
Author: Ray Brescia
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2020-04-15
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1501748130

In The Future of Change, Ray Brescia identifies a series of "social innovation moments" in American history. Through these moments—during which social movements have embraced advances in communications technologies—he illuminates the complicated, dangerous, innovative, and exciting relationship between these technologies, social movements, and social change. Brescia shows that, almost without fail, developments in how we communicate shape social movements, just as those movements change the very technologies themselves. From the printing press to the television, social movements have leveraged communications technologies to advance change. In this moment of rapidly evolving communications, it's imperative to assess the role that the Internet, mobile devices, and social media can play in promoting social justice. But first we must look to the past, to examples of movements throughout American history that successfully harnessed communications technology, thus facilitating positive social change. Such movements embraced new communications technologies to help organize their communities; to form grassroots networks in order to facilitate face-to-face interactions; and to promote positive, inclusive messaging that stressed their participants' shared dignity and humanity. Using the past as prologue, The Future of Change provides effective lessons in the use of communications technology so that we can have the best communicative tools at our disposal—both now and in the future.

Making Money

Making Money
Author: Peet van Biljon
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2020-01-20
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1547401133

How much do you really know about money? Everyone uses it, but few know how it really works. Most books about money focus on specific aspects. This book breaks through the usual silos to present money as a broad social technology that serves the current needs of society. It reviews the latest developments in financial technology including cryptocurrency, blockchain, and the prospect of a cashless future; and clears up many misconceptions in the process. Starting with a very brief history, the authors provide insights on how money is made; why money has value and what can change its value; how central banks, treasuries, foreign exchange, lending, and blockchain work; why you may be trading against robots; and privacy and security issues in an increasingly cashless society that will change our lives. While written for a broad audience, this book is also essential reading for students entering courses in the area of business finance, or money and banking.

Rocketing Into the Future

Rocketing Into the Future
Author: Michel van Pelt
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2012-05-30
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1461432006

This book describes the technology, history, and future of rocket planes. Michel van Pelt journies into this exciting world, examining the exotic concepts and actual flying vehicles that have been devised over the last hundred years. He recounts the history of rocket airplanes, from the early pioneers who attached simple rockets onto their wooden glider airplanes to the modern world of high-tech research vehicles. The author visits museums where rare examples of early rocket planes are kept and modern laboratories where future spaceplanes are being developed. He explains the technology in an easily understandable way, describing the various types of rocket airplanes and looking at the possibilities for the future. Michel van Pelt considers future spaceplanes, presenting various modern concepts and developments. He describes the development from cutting edge research via demonstrator vehicles to operational use. He also evaluates the replacement of the Space Shuttle with a seemingly old-fashioned capsule system, the parallel developments in suborbital spaceplanes such as SpaceShipOne and SpaceShipTwo, piloted versus automatic flight, and related developments in airliners and military aircraft.

Engineering the Future, Understanding the Past

Engineering the Future, Understanding the Past
Author: Erik van der Vleuten
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017
Genre: Engineering
ISBN: 9789462985407

The world is in turmoil: we are witnessing steep social and environmental challenges. Technology is identified as both cause of and solution to these challenges. How can we use technology to solve problems - without creating new ones?Engineering the Future, Understanding the Past discusses the role of engineering in our age of grand challenges - by drawing lessons from the past. Since the birth of modern engineering roughly two centuries ago, technology has helped to reshape our modern world. At the same time, social challenges have shaped engineering science and practice. This book examines why and how engineers have engaged in solving social challenges -challenges for society, for business, and for users. It alsoasks why some technological solutions have unexpectedly created new problems. And it studies how engineers have coped with technology's puzzling ability to both help and harm.