The Dynamics of Progress: Time, Method, and Measure - Hardcover

Macey, Samuel L.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0820311596 ISBN 13: 9780820311593

Publisher: Univ of Georgia Pr, 1990

Synopsis

The development of increasingly precise measurements is an essential part of what Samuel L. Macey identifies as the West’s wide-ranging effort to rationalize human activity―to simplify and standardize the way we work and communicate with one another. In The Dynamics of Progress , Macey examines the history of such rationalizations as they have manifested themselves. He identifies a symbiotic relationship among these different types of rationalization, demonstrating that without the rationalizing of time, weights and measures, numbers, and language, the scientific, technological, and industrial advances of the past three hundred years would have been inconceivable.In addition to discussing rationalization in its various forms, Macey also addresses reactions against it, and closes with some observations on the future. Increasing demands for material goods have the potential for spreading wealth, but such demands strain the earth’s limited resources. How we address the challenge posed by this depletion of resources, Macey suggests, will be the ultimate test of our rationalizing powers.

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Reviews

The author shows how the development of modern civilization has been closely intertwined with what he calls the "rationalization" of time measurement and use. Macey has written two previous books on time and time measurement, and this is clearly his forte. He concentrates mainly on the last several centuries of Western civilization, although he does touch upon other eras and cultures. He raises some debatable assertions; for example, not everyone would agree that the current dominance of the English language in international science and commerce is also an example of "rationalization." In the later sections of the book, where Macey reviews efforts to systematize industrial processes, his line of argument becomes diffuse and erratic. Although the work is not wholly satisfactory, it contains much of interest, particularly in the earlier sections.
- Jack W. Weigel, Univ. of Michigan Lib., Ann Arbor
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Univ of Georgia Pr
• Publication date: 1990
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0820311596
• ISBN 13: 9780820311593
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 273