Technics and Civilization
Mumford discusses the emergence and impact of the mechanical clock, originating in monasteries, on society's perception of time, organization, and industrialization.
bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.comTechnics and Civilization
Lewis Mumford, in his classic history of technology, Technics and Civilization, reminds us of the social and emotional work of this early clock, keeping a desirable life set apart by spiritual habits that were measured by marking the hours. “Within the walls of the monastery was sanctuary,” he writes. “Under the rule of order surprise and doubt and
... See moreSara Hendren • What Can a Body Do?: How We Meet the Built World
In Mumford’s great book Technics and Civilization, he shows how, beginning in the fourteenth century, the clock made us into time-keepers, and then time-savers, and now time-servers.
Neil Postman • Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business
“The mechanical clock,” as Lewis Mumford wrote, “made possible the idea of regular production, regular working hours and a standardized product.” In short, without the clock, capitalism would have been quite impossible.4 The paradox, the surprise, and the wonder are that the clock was invented by men who wanted to devote themselves more rigorously
... See moreNeil Postman • Technopoly
Clocks are the deceptively simple product of an intricate political arrangement. I’d even go so far as to say that politics is the art and science of creating the time machines that we inhabit — the calendars that help us orient and coordinate as we journey from cradle to grave
Aaron Z. Lewis • The garden of forking memes: how digital media distorts our sense of time
The Industrial Revolution is usually attributed to the invention of the steam engine; but as Mumford shows in his 1934 magnum opus, Technics and Civilization, it also probably couldn’t have happened without the clock.