The Evolution Of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks And Pins To Paper Clips And Zippers-Came To Be As They Are Download Free (EPUB, PDF)
How did the table fork acquire a fourth tine? What advantage does the Phillips-head screw have over its single-grooved predecessor? Why does the paper clip look the way it does? What makes Scotch tape Scotch? In this delightful book Henry, Petroski takes a microscopic look at artifacts that most of us count on but rarely contemplate, including such icons of the everyday as pins, Post-its, and fast-food "clamshell" containers. At the same time, he offers a convincing new theory of technological innovation as a response to the perceived failures of existing products—suggesting that irritation, and not necessity, is the mother of invention.
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (February 1, 1994)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0679740392
ISBN-13: 978-0679740391
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #113,411 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #23 in Books > Engineering & Transportation > Engineering > Industrial, Manufacturing & Operational Systems > Industrial Design > Products #47 in Books > Science & Math > Experiments, Instruments & Measurement > Experiments & Projects #500 in Books > Textbooks > Engineering
This book is an extended essay about the process of invention. In it, Petroski takes the viewpoint that the form of manufactured items is the result of an evolutionary-like process. He stresses that for any specific item, the form it has is only an arbitrary choice from many possible solutions that the inventor could have come up with. And the driving force behind invention, according to Petroski is failure- -each change in form that an invention takes is the result of trying to address some failure in what was done previously.Petroski introduces the book with an item that very aptly demonstrates his thesis: the fork. He details the history of the development of the fork, starting with the table manners of the Middle Ages, when people were in the habit of using knives to both spear bits of food and convey them to their mouths. But in order to chop off bits of food from larger pieces, it was handy to have a second knife to hold the larger piece steady. Of course, the second knife was also like to put a hole in the larger piece, and wasn't well adapted to holding things, not until someone had the brilliant idea of making a stabilizing knife with two prongs instead of one. Eventually, this stabilizing knife began to be used for conveying food to the mouth instead of just holding food steady while cutting, and it was found that four prongs were much better suited for this task than two. Each step of the way through the history of the fork, Petroski points out how when the implement of the time failed to accomplish its intended task satisfactorily, its form was modified, until the fork took its present customary form. At the same time, however, Petroski also stresses that the current form of the fork is only one possible solution to the food conveyance problem.
The Evolution of Useful Things: How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to be as They are From Zero to Sixty on Hedge Funds and Private Equity 3.0: What They Do, How They Do It, and Why They Do The Mysterious Things They Do Paper Mache: The Ultimate Guide to Learning How to Make Paper Mache Sculptures, Animals, Wildlife and More! (How to Paper Mache - Paper Mache - Paper Crafts ... Mache for Beginners - Arts and Crafts) Six Million Paper Clips: The Making Of A Children's Holocaust Memorial The Stories They Tell: Artifacts from the National September 11 Memorial Museum Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be Textured Bead Embroidery: Learn to Make Inspired Pins, Pendants, Earrings, and More Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box 50 Ribbon Rosettes & Bows to Make: For Perfectly Wrapped Gifts, Gorgeous Hair Clips, Beautiful Corsages, and Decorative Fun! The Final Forest: Big Trees, Forks, and the Pacific Northwest Forks Over Knives - The Cookbook: Over 300 Recipes for Plant-Based Eating All Through the Year Forks Over Knives Family: Every Parent's Guide to Raising Healthy, Happy Kids on a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet Movie Clips for Kids: Faith-Building Video Devotions Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do The Useful Book: 201 Life Skills They Used to Teach in Home Ec and Shop The Backyard Homestead Book of Building Projects: 76 Useful Things You Can Build to Create Customized Working Spaces and Storage Facilities, Equip the ... Animals, and Make Practical Outdoor Furniture Woodworking For Kids: 40 Fabulous, Fun & Useful Things for Kids to Make Artifacts of the Battle of Little Big Horn: Custer, the 7th Cavalry & the Lakota and Cheyenne Warriors Flute Lore, Flute Tales: Artifacts, History, and Stories about the Flute The Legend of Zelda: Art & Artifacts
