Reference Special: Inventions and How Things Work
I missed an edition last Friday because I was out of town for a meeting, but, who's counting? This week I thought I'd take a look at a new classic, The Way Things Work, which many people probably had a copy of at home at one time or another, and some related books that tell the story of inventions.
Encyclopedia of Modern Everyday Inventions (Ref T20.C56 2003)
A History of Invention: From Stone Axes to Silicone Chips (Ref T15.W718 2000)
The Way Things Work (Ref T47.M18 1988)
These books will give you a sense of how the creativity of inventors (and the virtue of necessity) have impacted our world, as well as a better appreciation for the everyday items we take for granted.
You may know how to play an electric guitar, but can you explain how it works? You could use these books to incorporate a deeper understanding of how an electric guitar works into an informative speech or paper on the subject, or see how we got from parchment (untanned skin of sheep or goats) to blogs for communicating ideas.
But another use of these books could be research for a creative writing project. Use the books to understand the technology of the time and your wordsmithing to create a vivid picture when writing historical fiction. Or, use an understanding of how past inventions have changed our society to predict the impact new inventions might have for a story set in the future. Think about how light bulbs and sewing machines changed our lives... or how few people really understand the engineering behind anything well enough to build a working vehicle or a means of communicating remotely out of nothing, or even with some spare parts. (Ever seen Lost?)
And if those uses don't work for you, impress someone with your knowledge of, say, how a breath tester works. We all know you breathe into it and it, basically, it tells you how much you've had to drink--but what happens in between? Check out p. 314 of The Way Things Work to find out. (Nod to HowStuffWorks.com.)
Have you been wondering... how did we get from the mimeograph to the xerox?
Recently we've had a number of students asking what a "mimeograph" is and how they can make one. We directed them to the photocopier, but for the record, mimeograph was invented in 1875 by Thomas Alva Edison and was a "mainstay in office and school duplicating for the next century" (p. 83, Encyclopedia of Modern Everyday Inventions).
Stay tuned.
Encyclopedia of Modern Everyday Inventions (Ref T20.C56 2003)
A History of Invention: From Stone Axes to Silicone Chips (Ref T15.W718 2000)
The Way Things Work (Ref T47.M18 1988)
These books will give you a sense of how the creativity of inventors (and the virtue of necessity) have impacted our world, as well as a better appreciation for the everyday items we take for granted.
You may know how to play an electric guitar, but can you explain how it works? You could use these books to incorporate a deeper understanding of how an electric guitar works into an informative speech or paper on the subject, or see how we got from parchment (untanned skin of sheep or goats) to blogs for communicating ideas.
But another use of these books could be research for a creative writing project. Use the books to understand the technology of the time and your wordsmithing to create a vivid picture when writing historical fiction. Or, use an understanding of how past inventions have changed our society to predict the impact new inventions might have for a story set in the future. Think about how light bulbs and sewing machines changed our lives... or how few people really understand the engineering behind anything well enough to build a working vehicle or a means of communicating remotely out of nothing, or even with some spare parts. (Ever seen Lost?)
And if those uses don't work for you, impress someone with your knowledge of, say, how a breath tester works. We all know you breathe into it and it, basically, it tells you how much you've had to drink--but what happens in between? Check out p. 314 of The Way Things Work to find out. (Nod to HowStuffWorks.com.)
Have you been wondering... how did we get from the mimeograph to the xerox?
Recently we've had a number of students asking what a "mimeograph" is and how they can make one. We directed them to the photocopier, but for the record, mimeograph was invented in 1875 by Thomas Alva Edison and was a "mainstay in office and school duplicating for the next century" (p. 83, Encyclopedia of Modern Everyday Inventions).
Stay tuned.
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