Our Own Devices: How Technology Remakes Humanity

by Edward Tenner

This delightful and instructive history of invention shows why National Public Radio dubbed Tenner “the philosopher of everyday technology.” Looking at how our inventions have impacted our world in ways we never intended or imagined, he shows that the things we create have a tendency to bounce back and change us.

The reclining chair, originally designed for brief, healthful relaxation, has become the very symbol of obesity. The helmet, invented for military purposes, has made possible new sports like mountain biking and rollerblading. The typewriter, created to make business run more smoothly, has resulted in wide-spread vision problems, which in turn have made people more reliant on another invention—eyeglasses. As he sheds light on the many ways inventions surprise and renew us, Tenner considers where technology will take us in the future, and what we can expect from the devices that we no longer seem able to live without.

Genres: Technology, Nonfiction, History, Science

336 pages, Paperback

First published June 3, 2003

About the author

Edward Tenner is the author of Our Own Devices and Why Things Bite Back, former college teacher and executive editor in book publishing, now an independent writer and speaker on technology and society and contributor to major newspapers, magazines, and web sites.

Reviews

[Quan Nguyen · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this book, Tenner walks us through the history of some of the most common objects in life: shoes, recliner chairs, glasses, keyboard, etc. The theme of the book is the interaction between the changes in design and production of an object (or technology) and the changes in human usage (or technique). All in all, I think the author was illustrate what can be thought as a symbiotic relationship between humans and machines (including, but not limited to, computers). Towards the end of the book, Tenner even mentioned various ways we have "merged" technology into our own body (replacement teeth, prosthetic limbs, etc.).

While a detailed history for each object covered in the book was thorough and fascinating in its own way, by the middle of the book, Tenner's intention to address his initial thesis of the book—the interaction between technology and technique—becomes less noticeable. Additionally, the connections between the objects were not interesting enough for me to see a clear link that binds them all together to draw an overarching theme.

[Casey F · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good history of the interaction of technology and ‘technique’ (how people actually use technology) of the particular items listed. It is very thoroughly researched - which is great for people looking for detailed and cited historical paths, but probably best skimmed in sections by the casual reader. I wish the author had delved a bit deeper into the implications and consequences of the resulting changes to body and culture. Foucault is mentioned very briefly, but including more of the philosophic interpretation through past and present would have added interest for me.

[dejah_thoris · Rating 2 out of 5]

From baby bottles and formula to helmets, Tenner covers nine body technologies and how they have shaped our interactions with each other and the environment. Technologies include: bottles and formula, the ubiquitous zori aka thong aka flip-flop, athletic shoes, ergonomic office furniture, reclining chairs, musical keyboards, textual keyboards, eyeglasses, and helmets.

Tenner's book has such an excellent premise and such poor reviews that I really wanted to like it. However, his previous critics are correct that his prose is woefully dry in this book. Many of the chapters read like product histories with very little insight beyond the obvious implications of adopting that technology, e.g. wearing shoes prevents your feet from growing thick calluses thus making you dependent on shoes. And sometimes you don't even get that, as the chapter on reclining chairs fails to address their connection to obesity beyond the slightest reference.

In addition to the possible cure-for-insomnia prose, this book would also benefit immensely from additional images throughout the text. Tenner does a good job of describing each invention for those familiar with that object but I found myself looking up many references online because the written descriptions just weren't sufficient for me to picture each one's differences. The placement of the images in the text is also a bit odd, often appearing pages before the actual text on that development.

Parts of this book aren't too bad and may be worth reading separately but it is hard to stomach the whole. The introduction about technology being more than electronics and how technology and technique interact might be worth excerpting for a course on technology and society.

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't finish this book, which is extremely unusual for me, but I feel a bit mean saying so, since there was nothing glaringly wrong with it... The central idea - that "technology" includes simple everyday items such as shoes, and that these invented objects often change our bodies and culture in unexpected ways, was an interesting one, and I felt that the author did a good job of writing what he set out to write. The book was informative, occasionally amusing, and packed full of details and references; it just wasn't what I wanted to be reading at that time. It was written in a slightly dry style, and demanded a reasonable amount of concentration, but wasn't educating me on a topic that was a priority for me, so on days I wanted a light read I preferred to pick up a novel, and when I had a bit more mental energy I was more drawn to books such as Confederates in the Attic or Racism without Racists that might shed some light on US history & culture.

[Karla Kitalong · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started this book quite a few years ago. I remember buying it at the Bookworm (used/new bookstore in Franklin Square, Houghton. I didn't get very far at the time, and I can kind of see why--it's a little bit boring. But it does seem to have a lot to do with usability, so that will likely keep me going at least for a while.

Update: The usability content was distributed throughout, sometimes a bit of a slog to find it, but ultimately worth the slog He talks about a diverse array of technologies, including helmets, athletic shoes and sandals, chairs (both office and leisure), keyboards (both musical and typewriter). His writing style is accessible--conducive to skimming the well-written topic sentences. I did this a lot.

I wouldn't call it a must-read, but if you find yourself immersed in it some day, you will survive the ordeal and probably learn something.

[Brent Ranalli · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book for the parts about walking in different cultures, and found that Tenner had concisely and wittily summarized almost everything I had already found in the literature, and pointed me in a few new directions. The quality of the research was so good, I had to read the whole book.

And on the whole, the book is very rewarding. I can't give it five stars, though (which in my mind means YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK) for the flaws other readers have noted. There are parts that are too long and dry and obscure for a non-specialist (I'm thinking in particular of the chapter on the reclining chair), and there is a howling need for more illustrations. For many of these technologies, verbal descriptions are not enough.

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following on the major disappointment of Gettysburg: Memory, Market, and an American Shrine by Weeks, this fast, fun popular history demonstrates how well history can be done.

Starting with breast feeding and bottle feeding as the first body technique or technology that most people encounter, Tenner covers shoes, chairs, and other body technologies and particularly shows how these technologies inform techniques that change bodies, lives, cultures, and even history itself.

I wish Weeks had written his book this well.

[Frederick Bingham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about various basic items used by humans and how they have been altered over the years. The subjects included shoes, keyboards (computer and musical), office chairs and baby bottles. The book went into the history of each of these items. Some of the discussions were interesting, but most a little too detailed for my taste.

[Cheryl Lindstrom]

Good information, boring presentation

While I found this book to be informative, I cannot say that I found it entertaining. The chapters are basically long form timelines of the item covered with very little of the author's opinion. The summary chapter at the end offered some commentary, but fell short of making the book feel like time well spent.

[Lance · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is very detailed at times. There are times that a diagram or picture would be very helpful. I found reading it a section at a time made it enjoyable with out getting frustrated at the amount of infomation.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look at how shoes, chairs, keyboards and typewriters (among other inventions) have made their mark (literally) on both human history and the human form.

[Allisonperkel · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok history of devices and how they have shaped us; from footwear to glasses; helmets to recliners. At times this is truly interesting book but at other times it gets bogged down in the details.

[Guy Cranswick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting. Just when you thought it was impossible to know anything more about tyres, Tenner delivers.

[Paul]

Interesting read about things that we learn rather than things we innately know. And how they are different between cultures or because of technology. Such as sitting or breast feeding.

[Sean]

Didn't manage to get through this one.

[Evan]

PLACEHOLDER: I read this years ago when it was new, and don't remember it well.