Misa Chapter's Reflection

After reading my chapter and watching the other videos in the Misa’s Book: Technology and Cultre, I learned of many new things that came about from certain times.  It was interesting to hear how every era had a large impact on technology and how each era continued to grow upon what was invented in the previous era.  Some eras were much more influential and had bigger impacts on today’s world, but all of the times were important to getting to where we are now technology wise. 

Chapter 1: Technologies of the Court

            Chapter 1 is from the time 1450-1600.  The Medici Rule is from 1452-1519 which is when many technological advances happened.  During this time, Leonardo da Vinci was a key part of the military.  I thought he was just a painter, but he was much more than that.  He was involved in military technology, weapons and deference development when he was a court engineer.  He also designed lavish weddings and was a philosopher for Louis XII of France.  The printing press was also pioneered by Johan Gutenberg which made work much easier.

Chapter 2: Techniques of Commerce

            During this time of 1588-1740, mass product factories were the large thing.  There were many new factories being built including herring fishing boats, fine textiles and windmill factories.  There also was the international trading block and from 1558-1740, the Dutch merchants were a very big part of the trade. 

Chapter 3: Geographies of Industry

            Chapter 3 is from 1740-1851 and many technological inventions happened during this time.  James Watt built the steam engine which helped factory work be much faster.  The first industrial city was in London.   Some of the big inventions or transportations during this time were the Canal Act in 1759, the first factory was built in 1761, the cotton gin in 1793, and the Health and Moral Act of 1802.  Beer brewing was also very large during this time.  The canal act helped with boats being able to travel much quicker instead of having to travel around the land.  The Health and Moral Act was important because it was a law about the work requirements and conditions so they were protected instead of working until near death. 

Chapter 4: Instruments of Empire

During the time of 1840-1914, railroads became a large transportation route.  Railroads were being built at a high level which made trading and transportation much easier.  Having railroads lead to national markets where trade could be done across the country instead of having to find goods that were close to them.  Telegraphs were also being built with railroads and they were built along the railroads.  Having telegraphs lead to the information being able to be passed along much faster where it was an information pipeline.   

Chapter 5: Sciences and Systems

During this era from 1870-1930, some great thinkers created some of the most important inventions of today.  The 2^nd Industrial Revolution began in 1870 and one of the big findings was the by-product of burning coal, called coke or coal-tar.  This helped to create the first synthetic dye that changed how colors were.  Now everything was just black and white but had vibrant colors.  Organic chemistry was also very big and was used for military purposes.  Thomas Edison was during this Era and he had an astounding 1,093 patents.  He built his invention factory and was creating a new invention 1 every 9 days.  In 1879, he created the first electric bulb which was the start of the light bulb which is still a staple today.

Chapter 6: Materials of Modernism

            During this time of 1900-1950, the idea of modernism took over.  It was a very artistic time with the Futuristos of Italy, Distale of Netherlands, and Synthesis of Theory and Practice being a large part of the modernism movement.  Mass production of steel was also a large issue during this time because steel was much more stable for buildings

Chapter 7: The Means of Destruction

During this era of 1936-1990, the use of technology for military purposes was the biggest factor.  World War 2 was during the time and military technological advances were crucial to winning the wars.  Some of the biggest military inventions were digital computing, the transistors, and the atomic bomb creation.  The whole country was turned into a factory to create all of the new weapons, inventions, and factories to put the US on top.  Many of today’s weapons were started during this era, but obviously now are much more advanced.

Chapter 8: Toward Global Culture

            This era was from 1970-2001 and many of today’s staples that we can’t live without were started.  Globalization happened during this time where world trade helped some countries that were involved in it, but it also widened the gap between other countries.  The World Wide Web became a new thing during this time which we all can’t live without today.  They created six different domains for the web and the web was used by the military to gain advantages. 

Chapter 9: The Question of Technology

            This era is from 2001 to the present day.  I found this chapter very interesting because there were a few things I never knew about today’s world.   Skyscrapers were being built as bragging rights for whose buildings were the tallest.  We rely too heavily on fossil fuels by wanting more land, bigger houses and cars which harms our world and this is called the “suburban sprawl.”  E-85, a gas from corn is not eco-friendly and hurts our food costs because corn is in more demand and is straining our relationship between Mexico.  Information Networks were not built as a secure network and cyber-warfare is a worry.  

So after all of this new insight, our world will continue to grow technologically but it might come at a cost for our world.  Global warming is a very big issue and many people are blaming it on the fact of how we live our lives and the desire for bigger and better things.  With that being said, technology is a part of our culture and will only grow and continue to make our lives easier.