The Myth of the Machine: The pentagon of powerHarcourt, Brace & World, 1970 - Technology and civilization An in-depth look at the forces that have shaped modern technology since prehistoric times. Mumford criticizes the modern trend of technology, which emphasizes constant, unrestricted expansion, production, and replacement. He contends that these goals work against technical perfection, durability, social efficiency, and overall human satisfaction. Modern technology fails to produce lasting, quality products by using devices such as consumer credit, installment buying, non-functioning and defective designs, built-in fragility, and frequent superficial "fashion" changes. "Without constant enticement by advertising," he writes, "production would slow down and level off to normal replacement demand. Otherwise many products could reach a plateau of efficient design which would call for only minimal changes from year to year." |
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Page 189
... Norbert Wiener ; and probably no one else contributed more to the early development of this series of inventions . Wiener helped endow the computer with some of the specialized attributes of human intelligence , including the capacity ...
... Norbert Wiener ; and probably no one else contributed more to the early development of this series of inventions . Wiener helped endow the computer with some of the specialized attributes of human intelligence , including the capacity ...
Page 194
... Norbert Wiener , Butler even embraced the possibility of a machine's reproducing another machine as at least a remote prospect . " Day by day , " Butler concluded , " the machines are gaining ground upon us ; day by day we are becoming ...
... Norbert Wiener , Butler even embraced the possibility of a machine's reproducing another machine as at least a remote prospect . " Day by day , " Butler concluded , " the machines are gaining ground upon us ; day by day we are becoming ...
Page 275
... Norbert Wiener . But today the grim outlines of the whole system have been laid down , with the corroborative evidence , by a legal observer , Alan F. Westin , as an incidental feature of a survey of the numerous public agencies and ...
... Norbert Wiener . But today the grim outlines of the whole system have been laid down , with the corroborative evidence , by a legal observer , Alan F. Westin , as an incidental feature of a survey of the numerous public agencies and ...
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absolute abstract achieved activities actually already ancient atom automatic automation Bacon become biological Christian civilization Comenius contemporary cosmic culture Descartes destruction dream economy economy of abundance effect effort electronic energy environment established evolution existence experience exploration extermination fact fantasies final forces Francis Bacon functions further future Galileo habitat Henry Adams idea ideology immense increase industrial institutions intelligence invention Kepler knowledge labor limited machine man's mass production mechanical world picture megamachine megatechnics ment merely method military mind mode modern moral myth nature nineteenth century noƶsphere Norbert Wiener nuclear observed once original Patrick Geddes physical planet plenitude political absolutism possible potentialities power complex power system practical present progress purpose Pyramid Age quantity reality result scientific scientists social society space subjective symbolic technical Technics and Civilization technocratic tion totalitarian transformation turn ultimate utopia whole York