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The Evolution of Useful Things

How Everyday Artifacts-From Forks and Pins to Paper Clips and Zippers-Came to be as They are.

Author Henry Petroski
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Paperback
$17.00 US
Knopf | Vintage
On sale Feb 01, 1994 | 304 Pages | 9780679740391
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In this informative mixture of history, biography, and design theory, Petroski examines familiar objects to illustrate the general principles behind the evolution of all products of invention and engineering, examining screwdrivers, paper clips, Scotch tape, Post-its, and even "clamshell" fast-food containers.  He demonstrates how the evolving forms of technology generally are altered by our very sense of them, and how they, in turn, alter our social and cultural behavior.

Table of Contents

1. How the Fork Got Its Tines

2. Form Follows Failure

3. Inventors as Critics

4. From Pins to Paper Clips

5. Little Things Can Mean a Lot

6. Stick Before Zip

7. Tools Make Tools

8. Patters of Proliferation

9. Domestic Fashion and Industrial Design

10. The Power of Precedent

11. Closure Before Opening

12. Big Bucks from Small Change

13. When Good Is Better Than Best

14. Always Room for Improvement
Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University, where he also serves as chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The author of more than 15 books, he has received grants from the National Science Foundation and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Humanities Center. View titles by Henry Petroski

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In this informative mixture of history, biography, and design theory, Petroski examines familiar objects to illustrate the general principles behind the evolution of all products of invention and engineering, examining screwdrivers, paper clips, Scotch tape, Post-its, and even "clamshell" fast-food containers.  He demonstrates how the evolving forms of technology generally are altered by our very sense of them, and how they, in turn, alter our social and cultural behavior.

Table of Contents

1. How the Fork Got Its Tines

2. Form Follows Failure

3. Inventors as Critics

4. From Pins to Paper Clips

5. Little Things Can Mean a Lot

6. Stick Before Zip

7. Tools Make Tools

8. Patters of Proliferation

9. Domestic Fashion and Industrial Design

10. The Power of Precedent

11. Closure Before Opening

12. Big Bucks from Small Change

13. When Good Is Better Than Best

14. Always Room for Improvement

Author

Henry Petroski is the Aleksandar S. Vesic Professor of Civil Engineering and a professor of history at Duke University, where he also serves as chairman of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. The author of more than 15 books, he has received grants from the National Science Foundation and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Humanities Center. View titles by Henry Petroski

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