Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences [Hardcover]

Edward Tenner (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0679425632 | ISBN-13: 978-0679425632 | Publication Date: May 7, 1996 | Edition: 1

In this fascinating book, historian of science Edward Tenner takes a fine-toothed comb to several realms of technological intervention and discovers a resolute pattern of "revenge effects, "paradoxical, ironic consequences of the step s we take supposedly to improve our lives. Whether proliferating technology is fated to lead us to utopia, we can be certain that it has plenty of tricks up its sleeve.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

To the Hopi Indians in America's Southwest, our existence will soon become koyaanissqatsi or "a world out of balance." Some doomsday theorists, like historian Edward Tenner, argue we are already there. But unlike many of his colleagues, Tenner doesn't believe technology is causing the world's demise--rather, it is carrying us, as individuals, to our own koyaanissqatsi more quickly. Technological "breakthroughs" such as X-rays and computers have their immediate benefits, but their long-term consequences in terms of health and environmental risks, lost time, and disintegration of traditions set us back further than where we started in the first place. While Tenner doesn't damn technology, he cautions for modest and skeptical acceptance of it.

From Publishers Weekly

Even when used to better the world, technology fosters unforeseen, often unpleasant consequences that Tenner calls "revenge effects." For example, air-conditioned subways raise platform temperatures by as much as 10 degrees F; some computer users get painful, wrist-numbing carpal tunnel syndrome; flood control systems encourage settlement of flood-prone areas, inviting disaster; 6% of all hospital patients become infected with microbes they encounter during their stay. In a thought-provoking study, Tenner, a historian of science and visiting researcher at Princeton, looks at revenge effects that pop up in medicine, sports, the computerized office and the environment. Oil spills, erosion of beaches, back injuries, athletes' illegal use of steroids and mass extermination of bird species on the world's islands by ship-hopping rats mark this saga of bewildering, often frustrating change. Tenner's cautionary conclusion: revenge effects demand ingenuity and brainpower as technology continues to replace life-threatening problems with slower-acting, more persistent ones.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Knopf; 1 edition (May 7, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679425632
• ISBN-13: 978-0679425632
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,058,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Action and Reaction Again and Again, October 10, 2002

By 

Gary Schroeder "GS23" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences (Vintage) (Paperback)

This book is slightly mistitled; it probably should have been called "HOW Things Bite Back", since there's not a lot of "why" until the last few pages of the book. Tenner provides many discrete examples of how various technological solutions to problems of the past have resulted in unforseen consequences, but never really gets at the heart of the philosophical question of why there must always be such unintended consequences. Despite this, it's a fairly interesting little look at various disasters, big and small. Surprisingly, for someone who's not a sports fanatic, the foray into how technology has changed sports in unexpected ways turned out to be the most interesting section.

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book; looking forward to the revised edition, September 18, 2000

By 

Ron STEENBLIK (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences (Vintage) (Paperback)

Publishers prefer catchy titles for their books, and this one is certainly catchy, but its subtitle is what buyers should pay attention to. Unlike some other reviewers, I was pleasantly surprised by the author's scrupulously neutral (some would even say optimistic) tone, which gives authority to his analysis. I was prepared for an anti-technology rant. Instead I found a carefully researched -- and fascinating -- set of cautionary tales. I WOULD take this book along to the beach, but I'm also somebody who reads the reverse side of cereal boxes.

What I got out of reading this book is more than just that new technologies can have unintended consequences -- that is to say, that people frequently FAIL to predict their consequences -- but also that it is essentially IMPOSSIBLE to predict all such consequences. The policy implications may be subtle, but they are important: while we might be able to improve our predictive abilities somewhat, we should be much more humble in our assumptions about the likely environmental, economic and social effects of technologies. There is much more to his argument, of course, but the evidence Tenner marshals in order to underscore this central point makes the book a must-read for anybody working in areas where technological development plays a central role.

If Edward Tenner has any plans to write a 2nd edition, I hope that he also includes some examples of the unintended consequences of new energy technologies and consumer electronics (besides computers). If he does, I'll buy that one too.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good read for our times, December 28, 2001

By 

The Don Wood Files (Fredericksburg, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences (Vintage) (Paperback)

Boy, we humans make a mess of things, don't we? Our solutions to problems end up causing other problems. We can never get ahead of the curve. So, what's the point? Why do we bother inventing things? If we stopped right now, and lived like its 2002 forever, we will be in better shape, and live quieter, more stress-free, and even safer, lives. That is NOT what Tenner advocates in his book. But it is a conclusion one could reach when you read the litany of unintended consequences he provides.

Drawing on a rich variety of sources, Tenner shows quite clearly how and why we have unintended consequences. Once you read this book, you will find yourself thinking about many of the technological fixes in your life and wondering what unintended consequences they begat.

The next step - and maybe this can be Tenner's next book - is ask, what can we do about this situation? We cannot and should not stop innovation or problem-solving. But maybe we can do two things. One, explore how feedback loops can be enhanced, especially now that we are living in a digital world. It sounds silly when you read that someday, your refrigerator will order milk from a grocery store when it "senses" you are low on milk, but the faster and more efficient the feedback loops, the better we can be at forecasting danger ahead. Secondly, when a new solution or invention comes to fruition, look back for a moment, not ahead. Something is always lost when a new tool comes into human hands. Maybe the old tool had positive attributes we should try to keep. For a great example of this, read the little essay on railroads in George Kennan's Around the Cragged Hill. As he describes it, at the very point in history that the railroads had created a magnificent system, uniting the country while allowing it to spread, maximizing speed and safety, the car was invented. And the railroads withered. A sad story, the way he tells it. And while Kennan may be a little too romantic when it comes to 19th century rails, I am sure that there are many things about the rails that we have lost, now that we drive or fly.

I always appreciate a book that makes me think. This one does and is recommended.