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About The Course

About The Course. What the Course is Not. Not designed to teach specific technological skills Not a refuge from history. What is Technology?. Objects people create to extend their capabilities (tools) Methods people devise to solve problems

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About The Course

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  1. About The Course

  2. What the Course is Not • Not designed to teach specific technological skills • Not a refuge from history

  3. What is Technology? • Objects people create to extend their capabilities (tools) • Methods people devise to solve problems • Materials people discover or invent to create objects • Human modifications of the environment

  4. Broad View of Technology • Inventions (things, materials, methods) • Scientific discoveries behind inventions • Changes in world-view that make inventions possible • Social institutions spawned by technology • Values changes induced by technology • Unanticipated effects of technology

  5. History Happened to Real People • They didn’t know how it was going to turn out • They felt pain and fear just like us

  6. Technology is a real intellectual triumph

  7. Why were key inventions often discovered so late? • Stethoscope • Measurement of blood pressure • Antiseptics • Printing press

  8. If you came to Earth from another planet in 1100 A.D., where would you expect Technology to develop? • China? • Japan? • India? • Islamic World? • Meso-America? • Peru?

  9. The Goldilocks Factor • Isolation: enough for independent evolution, but not enough to prevent external stimuli • Fragmentation: Neither total central authority nor total anarchy • Diversity: Distinct cultures but with means of interchange • Challenge and Stress: enough to stimulate, not enough to traumatize

  10. Ancient Near East Greek Etruscan Roman Irish Arabic Western Europe Britain America The “What If” Factor Western Culture is a Serial Culture

  11. Autonomy • People invent things because they see themselves as agents of change • People invent things because they can benefit from the results • Technology loosens social bonds, creates new social niches and roles • Increases expectations

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