The Civilized Engineer

The Civilized Engineer PDF

Author: Samuel C. Florman

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2014-04-22

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 1466868570

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Civil engineer Samuel C. Florman's The Civilized Engineer is aimed at both those observing and commenting externally on engineering, and the practicing engineer—to reveal something of the art behind great engineering achievements, and to stimulate debate upon the author's hypothesis that "in its moment of ascendance, engineering is faced with the trivialization of its purpose and the debasement of its practice."

The Existential Pleasures of Engineering

The Existential Pleasures of Engineering PDF

Author: Samuel C. Florman

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 226

ISBN-13: 0312141041

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In a world where engineering plays an increasingly important role, one wonders about the exact nature of the engineering experience in our time. In this second edition of The Existential Pleasures of Engineering, Samuel Florman perceptively explores how engineers think and feel about their profession. Dispelling the myth that engineering is cold and passionless, Florman celebrates it as something vital and alive. He views engineering as a response to some of our deepest impulses, rich in spiritual and sensual rewards. Opposing the "antitechnology" stance, Florman brilliantly emerges with a practical, creative, and fun philosophy of engineering that boasts his pride in his craft.

The Introspective Engineer

The Introspective Engineer PDF

Author: Samuel C. Florman

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 2013-09-24

Total Pages: 295

ISBN-13: 1466853263

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The profession of engineering is rarely the topic of serious public discussion. Multimedia, virtual reality, information superhighway-these are the buzzwords of the day. But real engineers, the people who conceive of computers and oversee their manufacture, the people who design and build information systems, cars, bridges, and airplanes, labor in obscurity. There are no engineering heroes, and we as a society are poorer for this. Like Florman's landmark book, The Existential Pleasures of Engineering, The Introspective Engineer is a clarion call to society. We must awaken to the reality that the quality of human life depends on increasingly creative technological solutions to the problems we face. We need cleaner, more economical engines, faster computers, more power, and a healthier planet if we are to survive. It is engineers who will lead us to this future.

The Existential Pleasures of Engineering

The Existential Pleasures of Engineering PDF

Author: Samuel C. Florman

Publisher: Macmillan + ORM

Published: 1996-02-15

Total Pages: 269

ISBN-13: 1466842369

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Humans have always sought to change their environment--building houses, monuments, temples, and roads. In the process, they have remade the fabric of the world into newly functional objects that are also works of art to be admired. In this second edition of his popular Existential Pleasures of Engineering, Samuel Florman explores how engineers think and feel about their profession. A deeply insightful and refreshingly unique text, this book corrects the myth that engineering is cold and passionless. Indeed, Florman celebrates engineering not only crucial and fundamental but also vital and alive; he views it as a response to some of our deepest impulses, an endeavor rich in spiritual and sensual rewards. Opposing the "anti-technology" stance, Florman gives readers a practical, creative, and even amusing philosophy of engineering that boasts of pride in his craft.

Engineering and the Liberal Arts

Engineering and the Liberal Arts PDF

Author: Samuel C. Florman

Publisher: Macmillan

Published: 2015-12-15

Total Pages: 278

ISBN-13: 1466884991

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A Technologist's Guide to History, Literature, Philosophy, Art, and Music. From the author who inspired inaugural poet Richard Blanco! Now available in ebook for the first time, Engineering and the Liberal Arts remains a fresh and provocative book, using the familiar world of technology to guide a new generation of engineers through the stimulating world of the liberal arts. Beginning with a penetrating and enlightening discussion of how exposure to the arts can enrich and reward nearly every aspect of an engineer's life, Samuel Florman—himself a decorated engineer with over fifty years' experience in the field—boldly explores the natural relationship between liberal arts and technology. Sweeping away traditional barriers separating the two fields, Florman establishes a rich and vital communication of ideas between scientist and artist. By linking the history of technology to world history, the truth of science to philosophy, utility of form to painting and sculpture, and the world of view of the engineer to literature, Florman builds a series of bridges connecting science to art. A complete survey of the arts in and of itself, this impressive volume constitutes an introduction to the infinite variety of pleasures afforded through study of the liberal arts, paving the way to a richer, fuller life for the engineer.

Civilization

Civilization PDF

Author: Niall Ferguson

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2011-11-01

Total Pages: 432

ISBN-13: 1101548029

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From the bestselling author of The Ascent of Money and The Square and the Tower “A dazzling history of Western ideas.” —The Economist “Mr. Ferguson tells his story with characteristic verve and an eye for the felicitous phrase.” —Wall Street Journal “[W]ritten with vitality and verve . . . a tour de force.” —Boston Globe Western civilization’s rise to global dominance is the single most important historical phenomenon of the past five centuries. How did the West overtake its Eastern rivals? And has the zenith of Western power now passed? Acclaimed historian Niall Ferguson argues that beginning in the fifteenth century, the West developed six powerful new concepts, or “killer applications”—competition, science, the rule of law, modern medicine, consumerism, and the work ethic—that the Rest lacked, allowing it to surge past all other competitors. Yet now, Ferguson shows how the Rest have downloaded the killer apps the West once monopolized, while the West has literally lost faith in itself. Chronicling the rise and fall of empires alongside clashes (and fusions) of civilizations, Civilization: The West and the Rest recasts world history with force and wit. Boldly argued and teeming with memorable characters, this is Ferguson at his very best.

Blaming Technology

Blaming Technology PDF

Author: Samuel C. Florman

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Published: 2014-04-08

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 1466867795

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Blaming Technology: The Irrational Search for Scapegoats is Samuel C. Florman's 1981 discussion of the state of technology and engineering in the United States, including the pros and cons, and the public's perceptions and opinions.

Construction in the Landscape

Construction in the Landscape PDF

Author: T.G. Carpenter

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2012-06-25

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13: 1136539565

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Construction in the Landscape describes the impact of construction on the land and landscape where it takes place. Geographical coverage is necessarily global to reflect the great variation both in people‘s economic and social needs and in the shortage or abundance of natural resources. Part I introduces both land resources, whether used for agriculture, human settlement or mineral extraction or conserved as scenery, wildlife habitat or for the undefined needs of future generations; and construction, its products, skills, processes and impacts on land resources. Part II describes specific forms of civil engineering - from landform adaptation, through dams and river control works, coastal construction and transport infrastructure to particular types of structure such as bridges, towers and power stations, or the layout of complete settlements. Part III deals with regional planning of construction and land use in different geographical circumstances - from fine scenery, through rural countryside to city and suburban development - and to the sort of land arrangements that may be sustainable for an increased but hopefully more civilized human population a century hence.

Small Things Considered

Small Things Considered PDF

Author: Henry Petroski

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2007-12-18

Total Pages: 306

ISBN-13: 0307427803

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Why has the durable paper shopping bag been largely replaced by its flimsy plastic counterpart? What circuitous chain of improvements led to such innovations as the automobile cup holder and the swiveling vegetable peeler? With the same relentless curiosity and lucid, witty prose he brought to his earlier books, Henry Petroski looks at some of our most familiar objects and reveals that they are, in fact, works in progress. For there can never be an end to the quest for the perfect design. To illustrate his thesis, Petroski tells the story of the paper drinking cup, which owes its popularity to the discovery that water glasses could carry germs. He pays tribute to the little plastic tripod that keeps pizza from sticking to the box and analyzes the numerical layouts of telephones and handheld calculators. Small Things Considered is Petroski at his most trenchant and provocative, casting his eye not only on everyday artifacts but on their users as well.

The Viennese Students of Civilization

The Viennese Students of Civilization PDF

Author: Erwin Dekker

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2016-02-19

Total Pages: 235

ISBN-13: 1107126401

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A fresh look at Austrian economists and the dynamic intellectual and political context in which they lived and worked.