Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress Upon Human Life and Thought


Book Description

It is proposed in this book to present in as orderly an arrangement as the necessarily diffused nature of the subject admits, certain speculations about the trend of present forces, speculations which, taken all together, will build up an imperfect and very hypothetical, but sincerely intended forecast of the way things will probably go in this new century. Necessarily diffidence will be one of the graces of the performance. Hitherto such forecasts have been presented almost invariably in the form of fiction, and commonly the provocation of the satirical opportunity has been too much for the writer; the narrative form becomes more and more of a nuisance as the speculative inductions become sincerer, and here it will be abandoned altogether in favour of a texture of frank inquiries and arranged considerations. Our utmost aim is a rough sketch of the coming time, a prospectus, as it were, of the joint undertaking of mankind in facing these impending years. The reader is a prospective shareholder-he and his heirs-though whether he will find this anticipatory balance-sheet to his belief or liking is another matter. For reasons that will develop themselves more clearly as these papers unfold, it is extremely convenient to begin with a speculation upon the probable developments and changes of the means of land locomotion during the coming decades.




Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress: Upon Human Life and Thought


Book Description

Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress: Upon Human Life and Thought In 1901, the great writer and social critic attempted to predict the future in this book, a fascinating mix of accurate forecasts — development of cars, buses and trucks, use of flying machines in combat, decline of permanent marriage — and wild misses, including the prediction that submarines will suffocate their crews and founder at sea. Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress: Upon Human Life and Thought First published in 1904, "Anticipations" is an attempt by H. G. Wells in 1901 to make predictions about the future, especially concerning technological and scientific progress. It offers an interesting look at the technological achievements of the 20th century, with Wells reflecting on some of the less attractive characteristics of a world we have grown beyond, as well as offering a keen insight into social dynamics and the progress it directs. "Anticipations" unsurprisingly presents a fascinating medley of accurate predictions - cars & buses, aerial wartime combat, etc. - and not so accurate ones - submarines being fundamentally flawed. This volume is highly recommended for fans of Wells' seminal work and readers with an interest in the early twentieth century. Herbert George Wells (1866 - 1946) was a prolific English writer who wrote in a variety of genres, including the novel, politics, history, and social commentary. Today, he is perhaps best remembered for his contributions to the science fiction genre thanks to such novels as "The Time Machine" (1895), "The Invisible Man" (1897), and "The War of the Worlds" (1898). Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this book now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author. Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress: Upon Human Life and ThoughtThis work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress: Upon Human Life and Thought This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress: Upon Human Life and Thought As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress: Upon Human Life and Thought




Anticipations


Book Description

Anticipations H. G. Wells - Anticipations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought, or as it is generally known "Anticipations" was written by H.G. Wells in 1900, at the age of 34. The book became a bestseller, and he personally deemed it "the keystone to the main arch of my work."Wells looks at the changes due to occur, because of various technologies. In both a social and material superstructural sense. He starts with the changes caused by the steam engine and the mechanical revolution that occurred. Wells believed that humans were living through a great reorganisation of society, which would ultimately effect every single aspect of life. The accuracy of Wells' predictions are stunning.




The Discovery of the Future


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Contesting Cultural Authority


Book Description

A volume of essays which constitutes a major overview of the Victorian intellectual enterprise.




Anticipations


Book Description

This is the extended annotated edition including the rare biographical essay by Edwin E. Slosson called "H. G. Wells - A Major Prophet Of His Time". Mr. Wells's book is brilliant and interesting. The author's social forecast claims to be descriptive of society as it is to be, rather than of society as it ought to be, and it is not, therefore, to be judged as an embodiment of his ideals ; but none the less the nature of his ideals is almost constantly in evidence, and is responsible for the hard, forbidding, and sometimes repulsive character of the society he anticipates. The only light with which his future is to be illumined is that of mechanical science. Mechanical science is the fountain light of all his day, the master-light of all his seeing —not only as regards the future, but largely as regards the past. The triumphs of democracy during the past two centuries he attributes to the advances in mechanics which have given a new industrial order— utterly ignoring the fact that the democratic advance was led by the American colonies, in which the new industrial order had no foothold save in a few cities, and these cities the strongholds of the opponents of the democratic movement.




Literature and Modern Time


Book Description

Literature and Modern Time is a collection of essays that explore literature in the context of a wave of challenges to linear conceptions of time introduced by thinkers such as Bergson, Einstein, McTaggart, Freud and Nietzsche. These challenges were not uniform in character. The volume will demonstrate that literature of the era under scrutiny was not simply reacting to new theories of time—in some cases it is actually inspiring and anticipating them. Thus Literature and Modern Time promises to offer a genuine dialogue between literature and time theory and in doing so will uncover and examine influences and connections— sometimes unexpected—between philosophers and writers of the era. It will examine literary attempts to transcend and escape time and also challenge rupture-based accounts of modernist time by demonstrating that literary texts commonly associated with brokenness, decline or stasis, also, at the same time, maintain faith in healing, renewal and mobility. This collection contains interdisciplinary research of the quite highest kind - to see so many different kinds of time - narrative, historical, mechanical, subjective, non-linear time, myth and nostalgia - as well as time/space discussed here is very stimulating indeed. Professor Simon James




Literary Theories of Uncertainty


Book Description

As the first study to examine the concept of uncertainty of meaning as it relates to modern and contemporary literature and literary theory, Literary Theories of Uncertainty demonstrates how this notion functions as a literary feature, narrative device and theoretical concept in 20th and 21st-century texts. Calling upon theories of interpretation and challenging the distinction between literature and theory, this exploration is broken down into three sections: Poststructuralist legacies of uncertainty; life-writing and uncertainty; and contemporary literary uncertainties. The volume takes into account related terms such as undecidability, indeterminacy, ambiguity, unreadability, and obscurity, and the topics examined include: undecidability and the motif of suspension in deconstruction; Derrida and Bataille; poetry as a mode of critical discourse and point of convergence between logico-mathematical ideas of undecidability and literary forms of uncertainty; uncertainty in relation to speech and the impact of Robert Antelme on Mascolo and Blanchot; Proust and temporal uncertainty; uncertainty in relation to death, trauma and autobiography; moral uncertainty in the Scandinavian welfare state and Nordic Noir; the aesthetically disruptive and anti-authorian effect of uncertainty in in the works of German-Turkish writer Emine Sevgi Ozdamar; uncertainty in the form of 'the double' and in relation to meta-fiction; and many more. Literary Theories of Uncertainty collates original and diverse discussions by some of the most prominent, inquiring minds in literary, cultural and critical theory today to map out the contours of the field of 'theory of uncertainty'.




Integrating Soft Computing into Strategic Prospective Methods


Book Description

This book discusses how to build optimization tools able to generate better future studies. It aims at showing how these tools can be used to develop an adaptive learning environment that can be used for decision making in the presence of uncertainties. The book starts with existing fuzzy techniques and multicriteria decision making approaches and shows how to combine them in more effective tools to model future events and take therefore better decisions. The first part of the book is dedicated to the theories behind fuzzy optimization and fuzzy cognitive map, while the second part presents new approaches developed by the authors with their practical application to trend impact analysis, scenario planning and strategic formulation. The book is aimed at two groups of readers, interested in linking the future studies with artificial intelligence. The first group includes social scientists seeking for improved methods for strategic prospective. The second group includes computer scientists and engineers seeking for new applications and current developments of Soft Computing methods for forecasting in social science, but not limited to this.