29 JUN 2013 by ideonexus
The Gas Lamp Brought Networked Collective Life
Wolfgang Schivelbusch (1995) argues that one of the most important
transformations of networked urban life came with the rise of the gas lamp.
The introduction of gas ended the autonomy of oil lamps and candles whereby
each household effectively supplied its own energy needs. Gas represented the
industrialization of light, transforming households into nodes of a centralized
power source, linking the domestic and intimate to larger structures of capital
and the state. In this way, Schivelbusch...Folksonomies: collectivity communalism
Folksonomies: collectivity communalism
1 
notes
notesBefore people became dependent on the grid, they were independent and autonomous.
12 JUN 2012 by ideonexus
Resistance to New Ideas
…it ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things. Because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. 1 notes
notesComes from the establishment already doing well under the current system.
31 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
The Danger of "Man-Midwifery"
The introduction of men into the lying in chamber in place of female attendants, has increased the suffering and dangers of childbearing women, and brought multiplied injuries and fatalities upon mothers and children; it violates the sensitive feelings of husbands and wives and causes an untold amount of domestic misery. The unlimited intimacy between a male profession and the female population silently and effectually wears away female delicacy and professional morality, and tends probably m...Folksonomies: history obstetrics
Folksonomies: history obstetrics
1 notes
notes1848 quote about the immorality and danger of male obstetricians.
09 MAY 2012 by ideonexus
The Candle as an Introduction to Natural Philosophy
I purpose, in return for the honour you do us by coming to see what are our proceedings here, to bring before you, in the course of these lectures, the Chemical History of a Candle. I have taken this subject on a former occasion; and were it left to my own will, I should prefer to repeat it almost every year—so abundant is the interest that attaches itself to the subject, so wonderful are the varieties of outlet which it offers into the various departments of philosophy. There is not a law ... 1 notes
notesFaraday considered it the best example to begin with.
29 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
The Invention of "Insufficient Milk Syndrom"
Even when women do decide to breast-feed, they sometimes feel they are thwarted by their own bodies. "Insufficient milk" is cited as a major reason women in the West terminate breast-feeding after a few days or weeks. The syndrome is fascinating because it is a clear example of a disease being "invented," defined, and then perpetuated by culture at large. In only about 5 percent of the cases is there something making it physically impossible for a woman to breast-feed. Before bottle-feeding c...
1 A problem that did not exist before the introduction of bottle-feeding.
08 JUN 2011 by ideonexus
Food Stamps Improves Quality of Life for Children
Seizing on yet another natural experiment, Almond examined the impact of the introduction of the food-stamp program in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The program was rolled out on a state-by-state basis, allowing Almond to compare birth outcomes for poor women who received food assistance during pregnancy to those who did not. His results, published in The Review of Economics and Statistics, found that women who were enrolled in the program three months before they gave birth delivered babie...
1 Babies born after the introduction of food stamps were healthier.
30 MAY 2011 by ideonexus
Definition of Encyclopedia V2
Encyclopedia. This word signifies chain of knowledge ; it is composed of the Greek preposition ἐν , in , and the nouns κύκλος , circle , and παιδεία , knowledge .
Indeed, the purpose of an encyclopedia is to collect knowledge disseminated around the globe; to set forth its general system to the men with whom we live, and transmit it to those who will come after us, so that the work of preceding centuries will not become useless to the centuries to come; and ...Another translation of the introduction to the article on Encyclopedie.
24 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
Introduction to the Jefferson Bible
THE PHILOSOPHY OF JESUS OF NAZARETH
Extracted from the account of his life and doctrines as given by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Being an abridgment of the New Testament for the use of the Indians, unembarrassed with matters of fact or faith beyond the level of their comprehensions. [emphasis mine]Folksonomies: founding fathers separation of church and state
Folksonomies: founding fathers separation of church and state
The first title of Jefferson's pairing down of the New Testament gospels states clearly the purpose of the text.
01 JAN 2010 by ideonexus
How the Analytical Engine Weaves Concepts Like a Loom
The distinctive characteristic of the Analytical Engine, and that which has rendered it possible to endow mechanism with such extensive faculties as bid fair to make this engine the executive right-hand of abstract algebra, is the introduction into it of the principle which Jacquard devised for regulating, by means of punched cards, the most complicated patterns in the fabrication of brocaded stuffs. It is in this that the distinction between the two engines lies. Nothing of the sort exists i... 1 notes
notesLovelace's remarkable description of the Analytical Engine compares it to the Jacquard-loom, which was also programmable.
