Our Own Devices: How Technology Remakes Humanity

Our Own Devices: How
Technology Remakes
Humanity
Frank Huang, Vy Nguyen, Diep Vo, Vivian Wu
Edward Tenner
● Historian of technology and
culture
● Affiliate of the Center for Arts
and Cultural Policy at Princeton's Woodrow
Wilson
● Author of “Why Thing Bites Back"
Main Ideas
● Introduce the inventions of everyday things
that protect us, position us, or enhance our
performances
● Technologies produces consequences that
their makers never intended
“Modern humanity is enmeshed in such
omnipresent, interlocking technological
institutions that technology and technique are
inseparable. ” - Jacques Ellul
Jacques Ellul (January 6, 1912 – May 19, 1994)
- A French professor of history, sociology and
law, considered by many to be a philosopher.
Writings criticized the threat of technology on
humanity.
Technology, Technique and the Body
● Objects change behavior, but not always as inventors imagine they would
● Technological advancement improves ease of environmental interaction
● The versatility of the human hand and its ability to transfer such versatility
Technique can Transform Technology
● Muskets were heavy and dangerous, required soldiers to hold the weapon
in one hand, while the other hand loads the weapon, lights the fuse and
fires
Body Technique
● Gender and cultural differences in
walking patterns
● Technique can be socially
constructed and adopted amongst
cultures and groups
o Ex: Women in African tribes
o Ex: Soldiers marching in drill
Technique in Sport
● When we use simple devices to move, position, extend or protect our
bodies, our techniques result in changes to our bodies
Take Home Message
“By adopting devices, we can do more, we
change our social selves. In other species,
natural selection shapes the appearance of the
animal. In humanity, technology helps shape
our identity." - Edward Tenner
Zori
Definition: a traditional Japanese style of sandal,
much like a flip-flop, originally made with a straw
sole.
The thong sandal, with two straps anchored at three
points, forming a V with its apex between the first
and second toes, is known to nearly every nation
and social class.
Zori (zories is the official term of the U.S. Customs
Service), thongs (originally Australian), flip-flops
(originally New Zealand), slippers (Hawaii), slaps,
flaps, beach walkers, and go-aheads.
History
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One of the first depictions of sandals, on a fivethousand-year-old Egyptian palette, is of the
barefoot King Narmer followed by a servant bearing
a pair of them.
Sandals inspired not only elaborate techniques of
manufacture but unexpected changes both in the
feet and in the act of walking.
What we wear evidently helps determine how we
move.
The manufacture of thong sandals on American soil
appears to have begun in Hawaii during World War
II.
Zori is endlessly adaptable to new materials
Zori & technique
● The first rite of technical passage for the greater part of humanity is
the use of footwear.
● We are the only animal that both makes and needs these objects for
its well-being
● Footwear can protect feet and helps shape body technique
● Zori helps protect the foot from infection and kept it closer to its
natural shape than closed shoes do, they also affected how the
Japanese walked.
● Japanese differed in walking styles compared to other nations
Zori & technique study
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Japanese and American young men have different, unconscious techniques for walking
in flip-flops.
Americans, unaccustomed to them, tend to grip them more firmly and to insert the foot
farther into them, keeping a smaller angle between foot and sandal.
The American walk coordinates the motion of ankle and knee to keep the center of
gravity vertically steady during motion, promoting forward acceleration into the next
step.
The Japanese subjects dragged the heels of the sandals as they walked. Both barefoot
and with flip-flops, the Japanese landed not with the heel strike characteristic of the
American subjects but with the forefoot or flat-footed, a technique that does not absorb
the shock as effectively.
Take Home Message
● The zori sandal appears to be wonderfully universal, improving the
health of people in the developing world yet adaptable to the high
fashion of the West
● Each modification of the environment increases the pace of the
technological treadmill.
● The bigger picture of zori: insecure foothold, and where parasites
or other natural hazards are not serious issues, it may not be an
improvement over the pleasure of walking the earth
● Technology can always be remade into something better
Posture Chairs
“Chair both reflect and
shape how we move and
how we rest.”- Edward
Tenner
Children’s posture
● Beginning in 1850s, concerns about uniform
desks that cause twisting and slumping in
children at school.
● In 1880, medical authority claimed the
percentage of schoolchildren with
misaligned spinal cords was from 83-92%.
Standard School Furniture
● Russia was the first country to launch health
standards for school furniture.
● Reform movement of standard school
furniture involved adjustments for seat and
backrest height, distance between chair and
table, back support and graded sizes. These
features were helpful to growing bodies.
Women Workers’ chairs
● Innovation idea for chairs that have lumbar
support.
● Invention of “typewriter’s chair”, chairs that
are featured curved rest for the lower back,
adjustable swivel by three curves, and
flexible metal rods.
Other Areas of Invention
● Specialized chairs for travel, hair cutting,
surgery ...
Important Messages
● Chairs are designed based on human needs
and technological advancements.
● Chairs are linked with their users and
reshape the people they contain.
Helmets
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Invented for military purposes.
Sacrifice the comfort for protection
Increase the human head by 2 or 3 kgs
Limits both peripheral vision and hearing
“One of the oldest external modifications of the
body, possibly older than the chair"
History of helmet
● First appeared in the 3rd century, BC (made
of leather, felt..)
● Metals helmets, used World Wars
● Kevlar helmets, used in sports, mining,
police...