[yaTOs.ebook] How We Got to Now: SixInnovations That Made the Modern World Pdf Free

Steven Johnson

ePub | *DOC | audiobook | ebooks | Download PDF

#133159 in Audible 2016-01-28 2016-01-28Format: UnabridgedOriginallanguage:EnglishRunning time: 371 minutes | File size:49.Mb

Click Blue Link to Download

Steven Johnson : How WeGot to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World beforepurchasing it in order to gage whether or not it would be worth mytime, and all praised How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Madethe Modern World:

118 of 123 people found the following review helpful. Excellent,well written and very informativeBy MetallurgistI found this bookto be well written, entertaining and very informative. I have notpreviously read any of Stephen Johnson's books, but now I will beon the lookout for them. This book reminded me of the books byJames Burke, "The Day the Universe Changed" and "Connections",which discuss the complex evolution of technology, and theinteractions of events leading to our modern world. "How We Got ToHere" focuses more on innovation than Burke's books, but like themit is also written for a general audience and requires little or notechnical background.I recommend this book to anyone interested inhistory, science and technology and to anyone interested in thestrange interconnected tales of how the things that we take forgranted were developed. My only minor quibble is that the book is abit light on technical details. For instance, it discusses pendulumclocks and then pocket watches, but does not describe thedifference in their operation, or anything about the development ofnaval chronometers. I would have liked a bit more technical detail,but this was not a big enough problem to reduce my rating from5-stars.What is in the book -The book describes six innovationsthat follow the author's contention that - "An innovation, orcluster of innovations, in one field end up triggering changes thatseem to belong to a different domain altogether." This idea canbest be understood by examining the six innovation chapters and theshort conclusion chapter that make up the book. These chapters areas follows:1. Glass - The first innovation, the development ofglass and how it impacted society, starts with the natural piecesof glass found in the Libyan Desert, and goes on to how meneventually learned to make glass. This required the concurrenttechnology of furnace building and the segregation of the Venetianglassblowers to the island of Murano because of the fires thatthese furnaces tended to cause. These glassblowers arrived fromConstantinople when it fell to the Turks and their segregation ledto the cross fertilization of ideas and techniques. The concept ofone innovation leading to another in a different field is discussedin terms of the development of the printing press, which made booksreadily available, which in turn resulted in many people realizingthat they were farsighted and could therefore not read them.Previously, Johnson contends that this deficiency was not readilyapparent because people did not require the ability to see smallthings close-up, although I personally find this a bit of a stretchsince tasks like sewing would have also required this skill. Booksresulted in the development of spectacles and spectacle makers whoexperimented with the lenses resulted in the invention of themicroscope and telescope, which in turn altered our concept of themicroscopic world and the cosmos. Glass also led to better mirrors,which in turn altered one's view of self.2. Cold (as inrefrigeration) - Here the story begins with Fredric Tudor's idea(obsession) to bring ice from the frozen lakes and ponds of NewEngland to the tropics, and how this ultimately led to a veryhighly profitable business, but not before he first went broketrying to perfect this scheme. Ice eventually led to refrigerationand to changes in the living patterns in the US and now in much ofthe rest of the world because tropical climates were now made morehabitable. Cold is also the story of frozen food and how this haschanged eating habits.3. Sound - This chapter discusses theimportance of sound and how it led to the concepts of recording it.The different field discussed was how recordings led to theacceptance of Jazz music, and to ultrasound and how this haschanged the ratio of male to female children in China.4. Clean -This chapter deals with sanitation, chlorination of water, and howthis has led the development of mega cities. It has also led to thedevelopment of advertising through the need to sell soap and toadvertising of soap through soap operas on the radio.5. Time - Thischapter discusses how Galileo's observation of the swinging of apendulum in a church led to clocks, and how accurate clockstransformed navigation and promoted trade. It also goes on todiscuss how the development of railroads led to the need for bettertime keeping and eventually to time zones, atomic clocks and to theGPS system.6. Light - This is about lighting, from candles to lightbulbs to neon signs. One of the concurrent technologies that arediscussed is the ability to remove Neon gas from the atmosphere andthe need for signage in Las Vegas.7. Conclusion - This is a shortchapter devoted to what Johnson calls "time travelers", people whoanticipate a need that so far has not developed. Contrary to thediscussions in the rest of the book, these "time travelers" are notinfluenced by concurrent technologies, but anticipate them.97 of102 people found the following review helpful. Ice Cubes, Clocks,Neon Signs, and Inventions-by-CommitteeBy PaulMAs a scientist andinventor, I found "How We Got to Now" to be a delightful book oninvention and innovation. The author focuses on six area ofinnovation: glass, cold, sound, clean, time, and light. Forinstance, he describes the accidental discovery of glass in thedesert and traces the development of lenses, eyeglasses,telescopes, and microscopes.The stories of invention and howsociety has been changed is fascinating. For instance, ice cuttingfrom frozen lakes leads to cooling machines to population growth inareas of hot climate. Clocks and railroads give us time zones andstandardized time based on atomic transitions, not on the rotationof the Earth. The author does miss the role played by glass(silicon oxide) in integrated circuit chips, where the glass isused as an insulator. There are few other omissions in this book.Inthe section on light, the author reveals a little-known secretabout invention. Edison's most important innovation was theorganization of groups of scientists and engineers to findsolutions to technical problems. Of my 118 issued United Statespatents, there are a small number for which I am the sole inventor.These represent the flash-of-genius type of invention. The majoritywere inventions-by-committee, where typically three or four peopleof different backgrounds combined their knowledge to come up withnew solutions.The final chapter deals with the work of Ada Lovelace(software), and Charles Babbage (hardware), who designed the firstprogrammable computing machine. This short section could easilyhave been expanded into a complete chapter on calculation. However,the author uses the story to illustrate an unusual invention thatpreceded its enabling technology.The book is full of illustrationsand interesting anecdotes. It does a good job of telling the storyof technology development and how it can transform the way welive.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Satisfies myInner GeekBy Misty D. WalkerMy inner geek loves this book! It's sointeresting to trace the history of innovations for broadcategories such as Sound and Glass. I loved reading the "Light"chapter about how we got from going to bed at sundown to staying upall night in Las Vegas. The Cold chapter was fascinating: who knewthat ice had such an intriguing history? Time mezmerized me; I readseveral portions of the Time chapter again and again. The bookmakes me feel like I have a well-rounded knowledge of these topicsinstead of knowing just trivia. It's well written and thoroughlydocumented. I was impressed with the amount of research that wentinto each chapter. The book made my morning and evening commutepleasant.

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition ofHow We Got to Now by Steven Johnson, read by George Newbern. FromSteven Johnson, the best-selling author of Where Good Ideas ComeFrom, comes How We Got to Now, which tracks the surprisinginspirations and unexpected consequences of the most influentialinnovations. How did the advent of refrigeration help create thegolden age of Hollywood? How did the invention of flash photographyhelp shift public opinion on the plight of New York's poorestinhabitants and bring about social reform? And what about ourbattle against dirt? How did that help create the microchips in oursmartphones and computers? Unlocking tales of unsung heroes andunexpected scientific revolutions, this is the story of the ideasthat changed the world and the way we live in it.

you can download free book and read [yaTOs.ebook] How We Got toNow: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World By Steven Johnsonfor free here. Do you want to search free download [yaTOs.ebook]How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made the Modern World BySteven Johnson or free read online? If yes you visit a website thatreally true. If you want to download this ebook, i providedownloads as a pdf, kindle, word, txt, ppt, rar and zip.

[yaTOs.ebook] How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made theModern World By Steven Johnson PDF

[yaTOs.ebook] How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made theModern World By Steven Johnson Epub

[yaTOs.ebook] How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made theModern World By Steven Johnson Ebook

[yaTOs.ebook] How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made theModern World By Steven Johnson Rar

[yaTOs.ebook] How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made theModern World By Steven Johnson Zip

[yaTOs.ebook] How We Got to Now: Six Innovations That Made theModern World By Steven Johnson Read Online