Knowing Machines: Essays on Technical Change - Couverture souple

MacKenzie, Donald

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 0262631881 ISBN 13 : 9780262631884

Editeur : The MIT Press, 1998

Synopsis

Ranging from broad inquiries into the roles of economics and sociology in the explanation of technological change to an argument for the possibility of "uninventing" nuclear weapons, this selection of Donald MacKenzie's essays provides a solid introduction to the style and the substance of the sociology of technology.

The essays are tied together by their explorations of connections (primarily among technology, society, and knowledge) and by their general focus on modern "high" technology. They also share an emphasis on the complexity of technological formation and fixation and on the role of belief (especially self-validating belief) in technological change.

Two of the articles won major prizes on their original journal publication, and all but one date from 1991 or later. A substantial new introduction outlines the common themes underlying this body of work and places it in the context of recent debates in technology studies. Two conceptual essays are followed by seven empirical essays focusing on the laser gyroscopes that are central to modern aircraft navigation technology, supercomputers (with a particular emphasis on their use in the design of nuclear weapons), the application of mathematical proof in the design of computer systems, computer-related accidental deaths, and the nature of the knowledge that is needed to design a nuclear bomb.

A propos du livre

À propos de l?auteur

Donald MacKenzie is Professor of Sociology (Personal Chair) at the University of Edinburgh. His books include Inventing Accuracy (1990), Knowing Machines (1996), and Mechanizing Proof (2001), all published by the MIT Press. Portions of An Engine, not a Camera won the Viviana A. Zelizer Prize in economic sociology from the American Sociological Association.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: The MIT Press
• Date d'édition: 1998
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0262631881
• ISBN 13: 9780262631884
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 350
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible