GNED 117 HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY

As taught by  Prof. Tim Richardson Toronto, Canada

The purpose of this assignment is to help you understand how individual persons can discover / invent some "technological application of science" which, depending on the surrounding circumstances, can have a long-term effect on human life.

• Sometimes an invention is special because if it did not take place, humans would continue to suffer some bad condition.
• Sometimes an invention is not really an invention of a new thing, but rather a "discovery" of a principle which, when understood, allows humans to do things which they could not previously understand.example: magnets.
• Sometimes an invention has strong social consequences which are beneficial eg. paper for communicating; and sometimes an invention or discovery has very negative consequences, eg. gunpowder used to propel projectiles

You task is to choose a person (or group of people) from history (any time period) and describe:

1. The main discovery / invention that they are most famous for
This must be something with clear technological implications, and not just pure science

2. Describe the environments effecting the inventor

• Personal characteristics which may have contributed to her/his discovering/inventing a particular thing
• political circumstances effecting the inventor
• social situations effecting the inventor, or effecting the people using the invention
• geographic circumstances can mean mountains, rivers, great distances etc. which provide challenges - for which there is some application of technology
• cultural circumstances that effected the inventor and the people using the invention, eg. slavery, language barriers, living arrangements

3. Describe any related previous inventions, discoveries that may have allowed this new invention to happen

• note any associated individuals, eg. Thomas Newcomen improved on the steam engine of Thomas Savery

4. The long-term results of this person's most famous discovery / invention

• example: the compass allowed people to sail ships long distance out of sight of land and allowed cultures to interact and trade where previously this was not possible

5. Your opinion as to whether he / she could have done anything different to make the discovery / invention have an even more positive consequence.
 

If the invention is not identified with a specific person  you may focus on describing the people in that society in general, instead of a specific person.

• For example, the technology of using the wheel, to make a cart or wagon, allowed heavier loads to be carried longer distances - thereby allowing people to trade and barter for more things (instead of just what they could carry on their backs).
• For example, the North American Indians had a very advanced process to make birch bark canoes - when the Europeans came, using this technology allowed them to travel far distances by water, and easily carry the light canoes over obstacles
• For example, no specific Roman was identified with "inventing" aqueducts, but the use of this technology had very significant consequences because it allowed people in cities to obtain water without having to individually bring water from outside the city each day

Marks given will reflect

• how completely you cover the principle questions set out above
• the effort to which you went to obtain information that full describes the person and circumstances
• appearance: spelling, grammar, neatness

To give you some assistance in looking for names of famous engineers and technological people, you may try these web sites for some leads. DO NOT rely solely on these sites, this is just to give you a bit of a "jump start".

If you have any problems - come and speak to me. Prof. Tim Richardson

 

www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Science/Scients.htm	This is an alphabetically ordered index of many famous scientists. Not all of these people are appropriate for your project - you have to pick someone who has a technological consequence.
www.uh.edu/engines/epiindex.htm	This is a large index that contains short descriptions of almost every technological invention of significance. You have to click around a bit to find something interesting. This will be a helpful start, but the entries are a bit short so you will have to access other sources as well - but this is a good starting place.
Spartacus Internet Encyclopedia  http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/engineers.htm	Massive web site with bios on British Scientists and Engineers, covering 1700 - 1900