Talk about technology constitutes a focus on research and development, patents, early stages of use which are based securely on the concepts of innovation and invention. In his introduction, Edgerton argues that too often the agenda for discussing the past, present and future of technology is set by the promoters of new technologies.
The book consists of eight chapters followed by a conclusion. Finally, that the commonly held assumption that we are living in a world of ever increasing change is not as true as it would seem.ĭespite the book’s exclusive focus on the twentieth century, the book surveys a wide breadth of historical material: two world wars, the Depression, and the fall of imperialism and the emerging preoccupation with scientific and technological advances. Secondly, that most technologies are old technologies, thus the most important technologies of the future are the ones that are currently overlooked. First, that technology has changed things as much as it has kept them the same.
Running through the book are three key ideas offered by Edgerton which help to radically revise our understanding of the relationship between technology and society. The author, David Edgerton, is the Hans Rausing Professor at Imperial College London, where he was the founding director of the Centre for the History of Science, Technology and Medicine. The Shock of the Old: Technology and Global History since 1900Ī challenge to the typical innovation-centric view of technology, ‘The Shock of the Old’ seeks to chart the historical trajectory of technology since 1900 from the perspective of what people and society actually use.
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