清华大学美国社会与文化课件science and tech_24050585.ppt

* Science and Technology in American Culture Alexis de Tocqueville another Frenchman writing about America, in the era before the Civil War he tried to explain “why the Americans are more addicted to Practical Than to Theoretical Science.” In modern, terms, why are Americans more addicted to technology than science. He said in a democracy, American value “every new method which leads by a shorter road to wealth, every machine which spares labor, every instrument which diminishes the cost of production, every discovery which facilitates pleasures or augments them.” to put it another way Americans admire an inventor/businessman like Steve Jobs more than they do Albert Einstein. 3 American scientists/inventors/culture heroes Franklin Edison Jobs Benjamen Franklin Franklin (1706-1790) first internationally famous American Working class family—father a candle maker; soap maker only attended school two years after that worked as a printer at age 21, he founded a association of working men devoted to mutual education; a few years later he established the first “subscription library” in America. founded the American Philosophical Society which later merged with the American Society for Useful Knowledge contributions to science Oceanography demography meteorology refrigeration electricity demonstrated lightning is electrical (received the Copley Medal of the Royal Society of London for this work on electricity and elected a fellow of the society Oxford University awarded him an honorary doctorate.) Inventions lightning-rod (it is claimed he was the first but I am not convinced) bi-focals (evidence for this is circumstantial) Franklin stove urinary catheter no patents: ... as we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously. Thomas Edison, 1847-1931 “He was a poor student. When a schoolmaster called hi