Articles Tagged with social effects of technology

The yellow zone vs. the idiot light

What information are you given as an operator?

Much about automobiles has changed greatly over the past decade or two.  Part of it comes from different ideas of what the driver should be doing.

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How big is a picture?

Returning to the Brownie format

b620The photographs that came out of this Kodak Brownie camera from the 1930s may be the best size ever found.

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Toy poodles, the Belmont Stakes and wheat

Prehistoric biotechnology

Our astronomer steps out of his area of expertise to comment on biology.

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The radio and the epee tip

The strange endurance of obsolescence

fencing epee, cord and gloveWhy do some things keep on being used when an up-to-date replacement is clearly much better?

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Life is nonlinear

Changing something changes everything

Tomorrow is a lot like today, but not always.  Beware the law of unintended consequences.

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For the long run

docsOne of our consultants has been working on a genealogical project this past week.  It prompts some thoughts on the difference between science and scholarship as well as the longevity of documents.

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Not dangerous enough

Probable perils of new technology

traffic2Using mobile phones, especially smartphones, while driving is dangerous.  Yet our chief consultant concludes it’s not dangerous enough!

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Simplified lightning

The rise and fall of the flashbulb

flashbulbsOur photographer illustrates the evolution of technology through something once ubiquitous, now obsolete.

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Making it easy makes it hard

Simplicity is good, but not always

123Photography can seem very complicated, so cameras made for non-experts are often highly simplified.  This can make them difficult to use.

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Ends and means

Or, strategy and tactics in photography (and elsewhere)

You have many tasks, large and small, difficult and otherwise.  For each one you have to choose a way to get it done.  A problem arises when you find such a wonderful means that you forget the end.

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