OUR OWN DEVICES

　　This delightful and instructive history of invention shows whyNational Public Radio dubbed Tenner “the philosopher of everydaytechnology.”Looking at how our inventions have impacted our worldin ways we never intended or imagined, he shows that the things wecreate have a tendency to bounce back and change us.
　　The reclining chair, originally designed for brief, healthfulrelaxation, has become the very symbol of obesity. The helmet,invented for military purposes, has made possible new sports likemountain biking and rollerblading. The typewriter, created to makebusiness run more smoothly, has resulted in wide-spread visionproblems, which in turn have made people more reliant on anotherinvention-eyeglasses. As he sheds light on the many ways inventionssurprise and renew us, Tenner considers where technology will takeus in the future, and what we can expect from the devices that weno longer seem able to live without.