The Greatest Inventions of the Past 2,000 Years

Contributors from a variety of fields offer their views of the most important discoveries of the last two millennia--and some earlier ones that bore fruit more recently--including social and philosophical changes as well as scientific and technological inventions

Physicist Freeman Dyson says it's hay; biologist Brian C. Goodwin nominates the printing press; and virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier suggests that it's the human ego. Whether or not readers agree with any of the more than 100 contributors to this nifty volume about the greatest invention of the past two millennia, anyone who cracks open the book's covers is in for an intellectual treat. Brockman, perhaps best known as an agent for science writers but also as the author or editor of several books (Digerati, etc.), here presents, with additions and changes, writings on that subject posted on his Web site, Edge (www.edge.org), by a host of inspired minds (though perhaps not, as the jacket crows, "today's leading thinkers"; there's a paucity of artists and religious professionals represented, for example). The contributions, which run from a couple of sentences to several pages, are grouped into "How We Live" and "How We Think." Though there appears to be some chronological ordering within each section, the essays are also arranged to illuminate one another. Some are obvious--three thinkers in a row nominate calculus--while others are startling for their unexpectedness (social commentator Douglas Rushkoff suggests the eraser, which lets us "fix" our mistakes) or their ingenuity (theoretical psychologist Nicholas Humphrey names reading glasses, which "have effectively doubled the working life of anyone who reads or does fine work--and have prevented the world from being ruled by people under forty." Together, the essays challenge and delight, offering flash after flash of insight. Brockman's own suggestion is our "Distributed Networked Intelligence"--"the collective, externalized mind," of which this at once amiable and arresting book is a notable manifestation. (Jan.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Author and literary agent Brockman has edited a cutting-edge volume of the most significant inventions of the past two millennia. The book itself attests to the giant shift in the way in which research is carried out: these short essays were first written for Edge (www.edge.org), a website and information arena for intellectuals. Each entry is a response to an e-mail question sent by Brockman (e.g., "What is the Most Important Invention in the Past Two Thousand Years? and Why?"). With more than 100 thought-provoking selections, the book looks at inventions as varied as the printing press and the scientific method. This is a surprising and intriguing collection with many entries that one might not even consider an invention at first glance. Brief bona fides are given for each contributor; their credentials and diverse science backgrounds are impressive. Recommended for public libraries.
-Dayne Sherman, Southeastern Louisiana Univ., Hammond
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.