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The History and Future of Technology - Can Technology Save Humanity from Extinction? (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2021) Loot Price: R1,427
Discovery Miles 14 270
You Save: R275 (16%)
The History and Future of Technology - Can Technology Save Humanity from Extinction? (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2021): Robert U. Ayres

The History and Future of Technology - Can Technology Save Humanity from Extinction? (Hardcover, 1st ed. 2021)

Robert U. Ayres

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List price R1,702 Loot Price R1,427 Discovery Miles 14 270 | Repayment Terms: R134 pm x 12* You Save R275 (16%)

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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 Earth's 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.

General

Imprint: Springer Nature Switzerland AG
Country of origin: Switzerland
Release date: July 2021
First published: 2021
Authors: Robert U. Ayres
Dimensions: 235 x 155 x 55mm (L x W x T)
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 830
Edition: 1st ed. 2021
ISBN-13: 978-3-03-071392-8
Categories: Books > Professional & Technical > Technology: general issues > History of engineering & technology
Books > Science & Mathematics > Physics > Applied physics & special topics > General
Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Environmental economics > General
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LSN: 3-03-071392-X
Barcode: 9783030713928

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