Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences (Vintage) by Edward Tenner  (32)
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Marshall McLuhan once described media as an extension of the central nervous system. Tenner, a Princeton scholar and author (Why Things Bite Back), whose work might best be described as an anthropological history of science, extends the metaphor to even the simplest technologies-any "human modification of the natural world," as he puts it-and examines the impact that technology has had on human technique: the routine ways in which people perform everyday tasks. In-depth chapters track key moments in the development of baby bottles, sandals, athletic shoes, chairs for home and office, music keyboards, typing keyboards, eyeglasses and helmets. If you've ever wondered how QWERTY became the standard layout for typewriters and computer keyboards, or how touch typing became formalized, this is the book for you. It's especially effective in identifying the ways technology shapes the human body; the footwear different societies favor, for example, affects people's stride, while regular use of rubber bottle nipples causes infants to forget how to use their jaws and tongues to breastfeed. The latter is an excellent example of one of the book's persistent themes, the "machine for producing dependency on itself," changing our lives so radically that it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to go back to the way things used to be. (Consider the discomfort Westerners accustomed to a lifetime in chairs experience when they try to sit lotus-style.) Tenner's erudite yet approachable style and his way with telling details keep his potentially obscure subject from becoming dry and boring, and those in search of a quirky but cerebral read will be delighted.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-From the effect of shoes, and the reasons for wearing them, to the design of keyboards, Tenner traces the interaction between the human body and technology, and how the tools we make change and affect us. The first chapter provides numerous examples in brief, from speed skates to Glock pistols. After that, the author gets into cases, devoting one chapter, for instance, to thong sandals, or zoris, in different cultures, and another to the faddishly popular athletic shoe. Surprisingly, for a work that covers such a broad topic, this book is a page-turner, largely due to its clear prose and the author's approach to the material. While not lavishly illustrated, there seems to be a picture every time one is needed to illustrate the technology being discussed. There is a good annotated list of books for suggested reading at the end.
Paul Brink, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
Marshall McLuhan once described media as an extension of the central nervous system. Tenner, a Princeton scholar and author (Why Things Bite Back), whose work might best be described as an anthropological history of science, extends the metaphor to even the simplest technologies-any "human modification of the natural world," as he puts it-and examines the impact that technology has had on human technique: the routine ways in which people perform everyday tasks. In-depth chapters track key moments in the development of baby bottles, sandals, athletic shoes, chairs for home and office, music keyboards, typing keyboards, eyeglasses and helmets. If you've ever wondered how QWERTY became the standard layout for typewriters and computer keyboards, or how touch typing became formalized, this is the book for you. It's especially effective in identifying the ways technology shapes the human body; the footwear different societies favor, for example, affects people's stride, while regular use of rubber bottle nipples causes infants to forget how to use their jaws and tongues to breastfeed. The latter is an excellent example of one of the book's persistent themes, the "machine for producing dependency on itself," changing our lives so radically that it becomes difficult, if not impossible, to go back to the way things used to be. (Consider the discomfort Westerners accustomed to a lifetime in chairs experience when they try to sit lotus-style.) Tenner's erudite yet approachable style and his way with telling details keep his potentially obscure subject from becoming dry and boring, and those in search of a quirky but cerebral read will be delighted.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-From the effect of shoes, and the reasons for wearing them, to the design of keyboards, Tenner traces the interaction between the human body and technology, and how the tools we make change and affect us. The first chapter provides numerous examples in brief, from speed skates to Glock pistols. After that, the author gets into cases, devoting one chapter, for instance, to thong sandals, or zoris, in different cultures, and another to the faddishly popular athletic shoe. Surprisingly, for a work that covers such a broad topic, this book is a page-turner, largely due to its clear prose and the author's approach to the material. While not lavishly illustrated, there seems to be a picture every time one is needed to illustrate the technology being discussed. There is a good annotated list of books for suggested reading at the end.
Paul Brink, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
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