
Resistances to the Adoption of Technological Innovations (1937) - dredmorbius
https://archive.org/details/technologicaltre1937unitrich/page/39
======
dredmorbius
A more readable version may be found at, or generated from, the Markdown text
here: [https://pastebin.com/raw/fZajYSGa](https://pastebin.com/raw/fZajYSGa)

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Dowwie
How did you come across this gem? :)

~~~
dredmorbius
Which, the original, or the pastebin?

I'd been aware of the article from mentions by Isaac Asimov, who'd conducted
much of the literature search for Stern while a student at Columbia, and
mentions it in a few places. He based his short story "Trends" off the notion,
as described here:

[https://books.google.com/books?id=SWBqlnbIIqkC&pg=PA54&lpg=P...](https://books.google.com/books?id=SWBqlnbIIqkC&pg=PA54&lpg=PA54&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false)

I'd tracked down a portion of the article (published in three parts), and
someone pointed me at the Internet Archive version earlier this year.

I found the quality wanting, so retyped it myself. Beware typos. I may have a
cleaner version elsewhere.

[https://mastodon.cloud/@dredmorbius/101929608999060831](https://mastodon.cloud/@dredmorbius/101929608999060831)

I find any number of aspects of the piece fascinating. Stern's own history,
Asimov's involvement, the specific technologies listed, the dynamics and
parties involved in resistance, the citations and references, the specific
arguments made and raised (for and agaist technologies), and the depressing
regularitty with which one period's tech maverick becomes the next's
obstructor. Specific detail (the rationale against typesetting the Koran
because of hog-bristle brushes, particularly).

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DyslexicAtheist
I downloaded the pastebin link but am confused. Is the retype from the same
text as the original? I noticed the original had as last sentence this:

 _> In either case the extent of the public interest in freeing and
encouraging these im- provements will largely deteiinine in the next decade or
more the technical pi'ogress which may be expected in construction. _

and the last sentence in the md is:

 _> Capitalism has inherent in its structure and functioning, factors which
militate against such realization, and thus prevent industrial practice from
keeping apace with scientific knowledge._

also the markdown converted to pdf is 60 pages (with a 12pt font). While the
original has ~400.

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dredmorbius
There are 16 articles (plus a forward) in the original publication, of which
Stern's is the 4th, running pp. 39-66.

End of Stern's article:
[https://archive.org/details/technologicaltre1937unitrich/pag...](https://archive.org/details/technologicaltre1937unitrich/page/66)

I did _not_ retype _all_ of _Technological trends and national policy,
including the social implications of new inventions._ I may be crazy and
obsessive. I am not insane ;-)

~~~
acqq
Many thanks for retyping!

The author of the article is Bernhard J. Stern, and it's also interesting to
read about him:

[http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv62136](http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv62136)

"In the early 1950's Bernhard Stern and his wife Charlotte Todes Stern, were
among many Americans summoned by Senator McCarthy's Committee on Un-American
Activities. Charlotte Stern was one of 25 literary names who defied the
Committee and faced jail sentences. In addition, three of Stern's own books
(all on medicine) were banned from the State Department's overseas libraries.
As a result of this Committee's questioning and the "red scare", both the
Sterns worked all the harder for the Bill of Rights guarantees."

His other article about technology:

Stern, B. J. (1945). The Challenge of Advancing Technology. The ANNALS of the
American Academy of Political and Social Science, 242(1), 46–52.
doi:10.1177/000271624524200107

The paper about him:

The intellectual in a time of crisis: The case of Bernhard J. Stern, 1894‐1956
Samuel W. Bloom, January 1990
[https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6696(199001)26:1<17::AID-
JHBS23...](https://doi.org/10.1002/1520-6696\(199001\)26:1<17::AID-
JHBS2300260103>3.0.CO;2-2)

~~~
dredmorbius
The politicisation of much American (and British) academia during the height
of the Cold War is its own interesting study. The field of economics (one I'm
close too) seems particularly heavily hit, though Stern (largely working in
sociology) clearly felt its effects. Sinologist Joseph Needham (I've commented
numerous times on his _Science and Civilisation in China_ , which I'd only
recently discovered) also hit political turbulence due to his support of (and
to unwitting duping by) the Communist China regime. Simon Winchester's
biography tells that tale.

I _suspect_ this may be a reason why Winchester's work is not mentioned at all
by that _other_ British historian of technology and innovation, James Burke,
of whom I'm also a fan. ( _Connections_ and _The Day the Universe Changed_.)

(Late response, apologies.)

------
kwhitefoot
We could do with a bit more resistance to the adoption of some technological
innovations now. I have ubiquitous surveillance and related technologies in
mind.

~~~
dredmorbius
Some resistence is higly warranted. Some isn't.

The amount that comes from essentially protectionist, conservative, and/or
rent-seeking interests, as documented by Stern, is notable.

