02648cam a2200277Ii 4500001001300000003000600013007000300019008004100022020002200063020002500085035002200110050002300132100003000155245009100185260004600276300007000322504005100392505008300443520157700526650004102103650004202144650004902186942001202235952010802247999001502355on1155701808OCoLCta210608s2021    mau           001 0 eng d  a0262542269 (pbk.)  a9780262542265 (pbk.)  a(OCoLC)1155701808  aTA403.2b.R36 20211 aRamirez, Ainissa, d1969-14aThe alchemy of us :bhow humans and matter transformed one another /cAinissa Ramirez.  aCambridge, Mass. :bThe MIT Press,c2021.  axv, 308 p., 64 unnumbered p. of plates :bill. (black and white)   aIncludes bibliographical references and index.0 aInteract -- Connect -- Convey -- Capture -- See -- Share -- Discover -- Think.  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. 4aMaterials xHistory xPopular works. 4aInventions xHistory xPopular works. 4aTechnology xSocial aspects xPopular works.  2lcccBK  00104070aPNLIBbPNLIBcGENd2021-06-17oTA403.2 .R36 2021pPNLIB21062391r2021-06-17w2021-06-17yBK  c2578d2578