The Art of Invention


Book Description

Chinese edition of The art of invention:The Creative Process of Discovery and Design by Steven J. Paley. In Traditional Chinese. Distributed by Tsai Fong Books, Inc.




The Art of Science


Book Description

What these extracts are, first and foremost, are stories of discovery. The Art of Science is not necessarily a book about great scientific theories, complicated equations, or grand old men (or women) in their laboratories; instead, it's about the places we draw our inspiration from; it's about daily routines and sudden flashes of insight; about dedication, and - sometimes - desperation; and the small moments, questions, quests, clashes, doubts and delights that make us human. From Galileo to Lewis Carroll, from Humphry Davy to Charles Darwin, from Marie Curie to Stephen Jay Gould, from rust to snowflakes, from the first use of the word "scientist" to the first computer, from why the sea is salty to Newtonian physics for women, The Art of Science is a book about people, rather than scientists per se, and as such, it's a book about politics, passion and poetry. Above all, it's a book about the good that science can - and does - do.




The Wild Book of Inventions


Book Description

In essays, poems, sketches, and photographs, twenty authors challenge the exclusive human claim to intelligence. Can contemporary art's practitioners change the way we perceive nature? In The Wild Book of Inventions, twenty authors employ a variety of forms, including speculative essays, poems, pencil sketches, and photo essays, to challenge the exclusive human claim to intelligence by pointing to, or inventing, new forms of coexistence for all life-forms. Far more complex than the necessary and continuous exercise of critique, these contributions introduce new ways to experience culture. Contributors Nabil Ahmed, Armen Avanessian, Hannah Black, Kristina Buch, Tyler Coburn, Ann Cotten, Paul Feigelfeld, Fernando García-Dory, Kenneth Goldsmith, Anke Hennig, Ingela Ihrman, Tiphanie Kim Mall, Chus Martínez, Momus, Ingo Niermann, Trevor Paglen, Filipa Ramos, Lin May Saeed, Emily Segal, Johannes Willi




Inside the Machine: Art and Invention in the Electronic Age


Book Description

A visual history of the electronic age captures the collision of technology and art—and our collective visions of the future. A hidden history of the twentieth century’s brilliant innovations—as seen through art and images of electronics that fed the dreams of millions. A rich historical account of electronic technology in the twentieth century, Inside the Machine journeys from the very origins of electronics, vacuum tubes, through the invention of cathode-ray tubes and transistors to the bold frontier of digital computing in the 1960s. But, as cultural historian Megan Prelinger explores here, the history of electronics in the twentieth century is not only a history of scientific discoveries carried out in laboratories across America. It is also a story shaped by a generation of artists, designers, and creative thinkers who gave imaginative form to the most elusive matter of all: electrons and their revolutionary powers. As inventors learned to channel the flow of electrons, starting revolutions in automation, bionics, and cybernetics, generations of commercial artists moved through the traditions of Futurism, Bauhaus, modernism, and conceptual art, finding ways to link art and technology as never before. A visual tour of this dynamic era, Inside the Machine traces advances and practical revolutions in automation, bionics, computer language, and even cybernetics. Nestled alongside are surprising glimpses into the inner workings of corporations that shaped the modern world: AT&T, General Electric, Lockheed Martin. While electronics may have indelibly changed our age, Inside the Machine reveals a little-known explosion of creativity in the history of electronics and the minds behind it.




The Invention of Science


Book Description

"Captures the excitement of the scientific revolution and makes a point of celebrating the advances it ushered in." —Financial Times A companion to such acclaimed works as The Age of Wonder, A Clockwork Universe, and Darwin’s Ghosts—a groundbreaking examination of the greatest event in history, the Scientific Revolution, and how it came to change the way we understand ourselves and our world. We live in a world transformed by scientific discovery. Yet today, science and its practitioners have come under political attack. In this fascinating history spanning continents and centuries, historian David Wootton offers a lively defense of science, revealing why the Scientific Revolution was truly the greatest event in our history. The Invention of Science goes back five hundred years in time to chronicle this crucial transformation, exploring the factors that led to its birth and the people who made it happen. Wootton argues that the Scientific Revolution was actually five separate yet concurrent events that developed independently, but came to intersect and create a new worldview. Here are the brilliant iconoclasts—Galileo, Copernicus, Brahe, Newton, and many more curious minds from across Europe—whose studies of the natural world challenged centuries of religious orthodoxy and ingrained superstition. From gunpowder technology, the discovery of the new world, movable type printing, perspective painting, and the telescope to the practice of conducting experiments, the laws of nature, and the concept of the fact, Wotton shows how these discoveries codified into a social construct and a system of knowledge. Ultimately, he makes clear the link between scientific discovery and the rise of industrialization—and the birth of the modern world we know.




The Art and Science of Inventing


Book Description

The Independent Inventor Most persons have at some time in their lives invented somethin- perhaps a gadget for making some task easier or a method for increas ing the economy of an everyday operation. Aside from a certain degree of personal satisfaction, the great majority of these inven tions have never yielded their creators any amount of real return. In many instances, the fault has been with the inventor himself, who made little or no effort beyond writing down the bright idea. In a significant number of cases, however, the problem has arisen from a general lack of knowledge of what to do about a promising idea. The individual who works full time in a non-technical job usually has no guidance for proceeding in a logical, professional way towards effec tive development and utilization of his invention. Several other factors are responsible for the considerable waste we see in the handling of inventions. Perhaps the most significant of these factors is an incomplete awareness of prior art. A stenographer dreams up a device to facilitate the distribution of incoming mail. She feels that the idea is so simple that others must have patented it long ago and so she goes no further with the concept. At the other extreme is the garage mechanic who invents a new type of wrench.




Inventing Imaginary Worlds


Book Description

How can parents, educators, business leaders and policy makers nurture creativity, prepare for inventiveness and stimulate innovation? One compelling answer, this book argues, lies in fostering the invention of imaginary worlds, a.k.a. worldplay. First emerging in middle childhood, this complex form of make-believe draws lifelong energy from the fruitful combustions of play, imagination and creativity. Unfortunately, trends in modern life conspire to break down the synergies of creative play with imaginary worlds. Unstructured playtime in childhood has all but disappeared. Invent-it-yourself make-believe places have all but succumbed in adolescence to ready-made computer games. Adults are discouraged from playing as a waste of time with no relevance to the workplace. Narrow notions of creativity exile the fictive imagination to fantasy arts. And yet, as Michele Root-Bernstein demonstrates by means of historical inquiry, quantitative study and contemporary interview, spontaneous worldplay in childhood develops creative potential, and strategic worldplay in adulthood inspires innovations in the sciences and social sciences as well as the arts and literature. Inventing imaginary worlds develops the skills society needs for inventing the future. For more on Inventing Imaginary Worlds, check out: www.inventingimaginaryworlds.com




Bright Earth


Book Description

From Egyptian wall paintings to the Venetian Renaissance, impressionism to digital images, Philip Ball tells the fascinating story of how art, chemistry, and technology have interacted throughout the ages to render the gorgeous hues we admire on our walls and in our museums. Finalist for the 2002 National Book Critics Circle Award.




The Origins of Invention


Book Description




The Art of Language Invention


Book Description

From language creator David J. Peterson comes a creative gui de to language constructio, offering an overview of language creation, covering its history from Tolkien's creations and Klingon to today's thriving global community of conlangers. He provides the essential tools necessary for inventing and evolving new languages, using examples from a variety of languages including his own creations.