The perfectionists :
Author
Format:
Books
Physical Description
xii, 395 pages : illustrations, portraits ; 24 cm
Edition
First edition.
Production / Publication Information
New York : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, [2018]
Summary
"Precision is so essential a component of modern human life and existence that we seldom stop to think about it. [This book] examines the relatively recent development of the notion of precision--the people who developed it and the ways in which it has shaped the modern world--and the challenges posed and losses risked by our veneration and pursuit of increasingly precise tools and methods. The history of precision as a concept and in practice begins in England with its originators: John Wilkinson, Henry Maudslay, Joseph Bramah, Jesse Ramsden, and Joseph Whitworth. It was Thomas Jefferson who first exported their discoveries to the fledgling United States, setting the nation on its course to become a manufacturing titan. At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, standards of measurement were established, giving way to the development of machine tools--machines that make machines. Eventually, the application of precision tools and methods in the development of guns, glass, mirrors, lenses, and cameras gave way to further advancements, including gene splicing, microchips, and the Hadron Collider. The fundamental questions at the heart of The Perfectionists are these: Why is precision important? What are the different tools we use to measure it? Who has invented and perfected it? Has the pursuit of the ultraprecise in so many facets of human life blinded us to other things of equal value, such as an appreciation for the age-old traditions of craftsmanship, art, and high culture? Are we missing something that reflects the world as it is, rather than the world as we think we would wish it to be? And can the precise and the natural coexist in society?"--Dust jacket.
Call Number
620.009 WIN
Publication Date
2018
Language
English
ISBN
9780062652553
The perfectionists
Author
Format:
Audio disc
Physical Description
10 audio discs (11 hr., 45 min.) ; 4 3/4 in.
Edition
Unabridged.
Production / Publication Information
[New York, New York] : Harper Audio, [2018]
Summary
Traces the development of technology from the industrial age to the digital age, focusing on the necessity for precision engineering in the development of machine tools and the creation of modern manufacturing.
Electronic Access
Call Number
BCD 620.009 WIN
Publication Date
2018
Language
English
ISBN
9780062850843
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