Central Library

Normal view MARC view ISBD view

Transports of Delight [electronic resource] : How Technology Materializes Human Imagination / by Peter Hancock.

By: Hancock, Peter [author.].
Contributor(s): SpringerLink (Online service).
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: Cham : Springer International Publishing : Imprint: Springer, 2017Edition: 1st ed. 2017.Description: XXV, 235 p. 52 illus. online resource.Content type: text Media type: computer Carrier type: online resourceISBN: 9783319552484.Subject(s): Engineering | Psychology | Technology | History | Technology—Philosophy | Technology and Engineering | Behavioral Sciences and Psychology | History of Technology | Philosophy of TechnologyAdditional physical formats: Printed edition:: No title; Printed edition:: No title; Printed edition:: No titleDDC classification: 620 Online resources: Click here to access online
Contents:
Introduction -- Ghosts of the Temeraire -- What a Sight It Is -- The Largest Moving Object Ever Built -- Reaching For God -- Surviving Sisters -- The Riddle of the Labyrinth -- Ships of the Soul -- Threads Through Time -- Transports of Delight -- Autobiomimesis.
In: Springer Nature eBookSummary: This inspiring book shows how the spiritual side of life, with its thoughts, feelings, and aspirations, is intimately bound up with our material technologies. From the wonder of Gothic Cathedrals, to the quiet majesty of lighter than air flight, to the ultimate in luxury of the north Atlantic steamers, Peter Hancock explores how these sequential heights of technology have enabled our dreams of being transported to new and uncharted realms to become reality. Sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively, technology has always been there to make material the visions of our imagination. This book shows how this has essentially been true for all technologies from Stonehenge to space station. But technology is far from perfect. Indeed, the author argues here that some of the most public and tragic of its failures still remain instructive, emblematic, and even inspiring. He reports on examples such as a Cathedral of the Earth (Beauvais), a Cathedral of the Seas (Titanic), and a Cathedral of the Air (Hindenburg) and tells their stories from the viewpoint of material transcendence. By interweaving their stories he reveals how technologies can succeed in elevating human beings and, in taking them to whole new realms of being, he explores and explains why these experiences are ‘Transports of Delight.’.
    average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)
No physical items for this record

Introduction -- Ghosts of the Temeraire -- What a Sight It Is -- The Largest Moving Object Ever Built -- Reaching For God -- Surviving Sisters -- The Riddle of the Labyrinth -- Ships of the Soul -- Threads Through Time -- Transports of Delight -- Autobiomimesis.

This inspiring book shows how the spiritual side of life, with its thoughts, feelings, and aspirations, is intimately bound up with our material technologies. From the wonder of Gothic Cathedrals, to the quiet majesty of lighter than air flight, to the ultimate in luxury of the north Atlantic steamers, Peter Hancock explores how these sequential heights of technology have enabled our dreams of being transported to new and uncharted realms to become reality. Sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively, technology has always been there to make material the visions of our imagination. This book shows how this has essentially been true for all technologies from Stonehenge to space station. But technology is far from perfect. Indeed, the author argues here that some of the most public and tragic of its failures still remain instructive, emblematic, and even inspiring. He reports on examples such as a Cathedral of the Earth (Beauvais), a Cathedral of the Seas (Titanic), and a Cathedral of the Air (Hindenburg) and tells their stories from the viewpoint of material transcendence. By interweaving their stories he reveals how technologies can succeed in elevating human beings and, in taking them to whole new realms of being, he explores and explains why these experiences are ‘Transports of Delight.’.

There are no comments for this item.

Log in to your account to post a comment.