000			02528cam a2200265Ii 4500
001			on1155701808
003			OCoLC
007			ta
008			210608s2021 mau 001 0 eng d
020			_a0262542269 (pbk.)
020			_a9780262542265 (pbk.)
035			_a(OCoLC)1155701808
050			_aTA403.2 _b.R36 2021
100	1		_aRamirez, Ainissa, _d1969-
245	1	4	_aThe alchemy of us : _bhow humans and matter transformed one another / _cAinissa Ramirez.
260			_aCambridge, Mass. : _bThe MIT Press, _c2021.
300			_axv, 308 p., 64 unnumbered p. of plates : _bill. (black and white)
504			_aIncludes bibliographical references and index.
505	0		_aInteract -- Connect -- Convey -- Capture -- See -- Share -- Discover -- Think.
520			_aIn The Alchemy of Us, scientist and science writer Ainissa Ramirez examines eight inventions-clocks, steel rails, copper communication cables, photographic film, light bulbs, hard disks, scientific labware, and silicon chips-and reveals how they shaped the human experience. Ramirez tells the stories of the woman who sold time, the inventor who inspired Edison, and the hotheaded undertaker whose invention pointed the way to the computer. She describes, among other things, how our pursuit of precision in timepieces changed how we sleep; how the railroad helped commercialize Christmas; how the necessary brevity of the telegram influenced Hemingway's writing style; and how a young chemist exposed the use of Polaroid's cameras to create passbooks to track Black citizens in apartheid South Africa. These fascinating and inspiring stories offer new perspectives on our relationships with technologies. Ramirez shows not only how materials were shaped by inventors but also how those materials shaped culture, chronicling each invention and its consequences-intended and unintended. Filling in the gaps left by other books about technology, Ramirez showcases little-known inventors-particularly people of color and women-who had a significant impact but whose accomplishments have been hidden by mythmaking, bias, and convention. Doing so, she shows us the power of telling inclusive stories about technology. She also shows that innovation is universal-whether it's splicing beats with two turntables and a microphone or splicing genes with two test tubes and CRISPR.
650		4	_aMaterials _xHistory _xPopular works.
650		4	_aInventions _xHistory _xPopular works.
650		4	_aTechnology _xSocial aspects _xPopular works.
942			_2lcc _cBK
999			_c2578 _d2578