The Mind’s Eye: Nonverbal thought in Technology

This scientific age too readily assumes that whatever knowledge may be incorporated in the artifacts of technology must be derived from science. This assumption is a bit of modern folklore that ignores the many nonscientific decisions, both large and small, made by technologists as they design the world we inhabit. Many objects of daily use have clearly been influenced by science, but their form and function, their dimensions and appearance, were determined by technologists- craftsmen, designers, inventors, and engineers-using nonscientific modes of thought. Carving knives, comfortable chairs, lighting fixtures, and motorcycles are as they are because over the years their designers and makers have established shape, style, and texture. Many features and qualities of the objects that a

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