Humanity’s victory over rust!

Humanity's victory over rust! 1

Sometimes we need a reminder to realize the triumphs of Science and Engineering that went into the most common everyday objects. Take our ubiquitous stainless steel cutlery: what was it like when this recent addition to materials science – and our dinner table – suddenly made rust a non-issue? Check out a somewhat quirky tour … Read more

Roman technology rocks!

Yesterday I went to the annual conference of the Israeli Society for History and Philosophy of Science, an eclectic event if ever I saw one. Lectures covered such diverse issues as the possible role of quantum effects in neuronal microtubules in creating consciousness (yes, Penrose’s conjecture); blog writing as a therapeutic tool for adolescents with … Read more

The demise of Tinkering

The progress of engineering over the years has brought us many triumphs of human ingenuity, but it has left quite a bit of roadkill behind. One species driven to the brink of extinction is the Tinkerer. The attitude to Tinkering has always been ambivalent. Look at the dictionary definitions: tinkerer [noun] 1. a traveling mender … Read more

Where have all the cradles gone?

Where have all the cradles gone? 18

In the early years, when portable electronic devices were considered wonderful miracles of technology, they used to come equipped with cradles. These would at a minimum charge them – the case with the “dumb” cellular phones of the day – and later also provide cabled connectivity to a computer, as in the early Palm Pilots. … Read more

An alien twist on the On/Off Switch symbol

An alien twist on the On/Off Switch symbol 21

My post about the evolution of the On/Off Switch symbol turned out to be very popular with this blog’s esteemed readers. So, here is a second serving on the subject. This time, something completely different… I was visiting someone in a hospital and I saw this piece of medical equipment by Alaris Medical Systems. From … Read more