The Golem at large : what you should know about technology / Harry Collins, Trevor Pinch.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Collins, H. M. (Harry M.), 1943- author.

Pinch, T. J. (Trevor J.), author.

Series:

Canto classics.

Canto classics

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Technology--Social aspects--Case studies.

Technology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 213 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

In the very successful and widely discussed first volume in the Golem series, The Golem: What You Should Know about Science, Harry Collins and Trevor Pinch likened science to the Golem, a creature from Jewish mythology, a powerful creature which, while not evil, can be dangerous because it is clumsy. In this second volume, the authors now consider the Golem of technology. In a series of case studies they demonstrate that the imperfections in technology are related to the uncertainties in science described in the first volume. The case studies cover the role of the Patriot anti-missile missile in the Gulf War, the Challenger space shuttle explosion, tests of nuclear fuel flasks and of anti-misting kerosene as a fuel for airplanes, economic modeling, the question of the origins of oil, analysis of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and the contribution of lay expertise to the analysis of treatments for AIDS.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 05 Oct 2015).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-139-90571-6

1-139-91544-4

1-139-89986-4

1-139-92323-4

1-139-90374-8

1-139-90764-6

1-139-91935-0

1-139-91149-X

1-107-58904-5