Book details of 'Meaning in Technology'

Title	Meaning in Technology
Author(s)	Arnold Pacey
ISBN	0262161826
Language	English
Published	July 1999
Publisher	MIT Press

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Reviewer Rob Slade wrote:
In the introduction, under a section entitled "Aim," Pacey states that the book is intended to affirm that personal experience of technology is significant, and that such experience should be discussed without denigrating it as "merely subjective." Unfortunately, aside from pointing out that people do react to technology on a personal level, he does not make clear what the benefit of such a discussion might be. Another part of the introduction, and one that I can fully agree with, points out the futility of studies bent on proving some causative model that led to, for example, the industrial revolution. For a number of years I have kept a quotation from "Constantine the Great and the Christian Church" by Norman H. Baynes: "To take a man's past and demonstrate its inherent logic is a fascinating pursuit--to prove to one's own satisfaction that the past could not have been otherwise than it was, being a necessary development from that which had gone before, this is gratifying to man, for he can thus look back upon human history and regard it as in a sense his own creation and can then praise its creator." Therefore, it is rather ironic to find that the title of the first chapter postulates that music may somehow cause technology. This is the more interesting in light of the fact that a number of Pacey's examples show some effect of technology on music (in one case stopping the music), but nowhere is evidence presented for an effect in the other direction. The author also expands on his assertion of the inadequacy of purely objective studies by noting that people believe life is only meaningful if it has a purpose, whereas a strictly "scientific" account is only descriptive, and can say nothing about purpose. Chapter two presents some ideas on visual thinking. It is difficult to say what chapter three is about: the phenomenon of ideas being generated from the unconscious plays a part, as does the value of manual work in the thinking process, but most of the anecdotes seem to relate to observation somehow. The assertion that inventors often don't understand the real usefulness of their inventions is mixed up with observations of marketability in chapter four. Chapter five contains tidbits of travel trivia, some of which might possibly connect to specific technologies suitable to those geographical environments. Exploration and "improvement" upon nature are the matter of chapter six. The examination of gender, in chapter seven, is marked by the recent "narrow Mars/inclusive-but-restricted Venus" stereotype. Chapter eight is concerned with the idea that "some things man was not meant to know," but, with the emphasis on weapons and military technology, the concept of evil technology, as opposed to evil use, is not examined. People-centred technology is reviewed in chapter nine, but the lack of analysis limits the points that can be made. As a work of poetry (or perhaps poesy), and personal reaction, the book is rather lovely. Read uncritically, the collection of essays is enjoyable and even vaguely thought-provoking. Oddly though, this value comes at the expense of significance. As long as you are looking for some kind of purpose to the book, you are going to be frustrated. You can only find merit if you abandon meaning. copyright Robert M. Slade, 1999
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Book description:

In previous books Arnold Pacey has written about the role of ideas and ideals in the creation of technology, about the global history of technology, and about how the complex interaction of political, cultural, economic, and scientific influences determines the course of technological practice. In Meaning in Technology, he explores how an individual's sense of purpose and meaning in life can affect the shape and use of technology. Stressing that there is no hierarchy of meaning in technology, he argues against reductionism in interpreting technology in a human context, and for acknowledgment of the role of the human experience of purpose when it helps to express meaning in technology. In the first part of the book, Pacey analyzes the direct experience of technology by individuals--engineers, mathematicians, craft workers, and consumers. He looks at music as a source of technology, at visual thinking, at tactile knowledge, and at the generation of social meaning. In the second part, he examines the contexts in which technology is used, relating technology to nature and society. He explores our sense of place and of our relationship with nature, environmental concerns, gender, and creativity. He concludes with a discussion of the possibilities of a more people-centered technology--a participatory, ethical experience of technology that values people as well as their environment.