The Real World of Technology (CBC Massey Lectures series) Revised Edition [Paperback]

Ursula M. Franklin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1999

In this expanded edition of her bestselling 1989 CBC Massey Lectures, renowned Canadian scientist and humanitarian Ursula M. Franklin examines the impact of technology upon our lives and addresses the extraordinary changes in the bit sphere since The Real World of Technology was first published. In four new chapters, Franklin tackles contentious issues, such as the dilution of privacy and intellectual property rights, the impact of the current technology on government and governance, the shift from consumer capitalism to investment capitalism, and the influence of the Internet upon the craft of writing.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ursula Franklin is an experimental physicist, University Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto, a former board member of the National Research Council and the Science Council of Canada, and a companion of the Order of Canada.

Product Details

• Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: House of Anansi Press; 2nd edition (June 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 088784636X
• ISBN-13: 978-0887846366
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,054,596 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book changed my life, November 16, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Real World of Technology (CBC Massey Lectures series) Revised Edition (Paperback)

Simply put, this book has had a profound influence on my daily thinking and academic practice. Weaving threads from the construction of ancient Chinese Bronzes through the technologies that permeate contemporary Western society, Franklin builds a dazzling description of the way technology is intertwined in our lives, society and culture.

This book is essential reading for anyone studying Technology & Society or Ethics, and is a wonderful pleasure to read. Buy it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rare Wisdom and Understanding from an Accomplished Academic, August 17, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Real World of Technology (CBC Massey Lectures series) Revised Edition (Paperback)

Ursula Franklin performs an unusual service in this book. She relates technology to other fields of human activity and thought in a manner that is exceptionally illuminating. With her knowledge and understanding of technology, the arts, education, the humanities, literature, politics, the basics of human nature, you name it, she comfortably puts together subjects that too often are dealt with in isolation from oneanother.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be mandatory reading for anyone in the sciences, November 26, 2003

By 

"danthrax" (Toronto, ON, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Real World of Technology (Cbc Massey Lectures Series) (Paperback)

This book illuminates the complex relationship between technology and society. A dangerous attitude among people in the sciences (and the arts) is that inventions are neutral, and society uses them for good or for evil. This book illustrates how it is much more complicated than that, and we should avoid being idealistic about technology.

The author shows how peoples' motives and attitudes can actually be embedded within the technology *itself*, and impossible to pull out after the technology has been implemented. It also shows how various technologies can have side-effects on society, changing people's attitudes. The belief that technology is born pure and then used for ideological goals is misleading.

Technology (not just man) has had an important role in the early emergence of a burocracy in China, startling psychological effects of the evening news, and racial segregation in the United States. You'll have to read it to appreciate the power behind these conclusions.

However, this book is not anti-technology, nor is it proclaiming an apocalypse. It offers real insights into how we must be aware of sociological and philosophical issues BEFORE we expand technological frontiers. Those in the sciences must stop saying "that's not my responsibility, I only invented it."

As well, people on the whole will be more aware of subtle side-effects of technology, allowing them to reap the intended benefits of technology in a more direct way. I repeat, this book is not anti-science. It is quite scientific and balanced in its arguments. I highly recommend it.