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The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern World

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The Perfectionists: How Precision Engineers Created the Modern WorldThe revered New York Times bestselling author traces the development of technology from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age to explore the single component crucial to advancement precision in a superb history that is both an homage and a warning for our future. The rise of manufacturing could not have happened without an attention to precision. At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in eighteenth century England, standards of measurement were

The revered New York Times bestselling author traces the development of technology from the Industrial Age to the Digital Age to explore the single component crucial to advancement--precision--in a superb history that is both an homage and a warning for our future.

The rise of manufacturing could not have happened without an attention to precision. At the dawn of the Industrial Revolution in eighteenth-century England, standards of measurement were established, giving way to the development of machine tools--machines that make machines. Eventually, the application of precision tools and methods resulted in the creation and mass production of items from guns and glass to mirrors, lenses, and cameras--and eventually gave way to further breakthroughs, including gene splicing, microchips, and the Hadron Collider.

Simon Winchester takes us back to origins of the Industrial Age, to England where he introduces the scientific minds that helped usher in modern production: John Wilkinson, Henry Maudslay, Joseph Bramah, Jesse Ramsden, and Joseph Whitworth. It was Thomas Jefferson who later exported their discoveries to the fledgling United States, setting the nation on its course to become a manufacturing titan. Winchester moves forward through time, to today's cutting-edge developments occurring around the world, from America to Western Europe to Asia.

As he introduces the minds and methods that have changed the modern world, Winchester explores fundamental questions. Why is precision important? What are the different tools we use to measure it? Who has invented and perfected it? Has the pursuit of the ultra-precise in so many facets of human life blinded us to other things of equal value, such as an appreciation for the age-old traditions of craftsmanship, art, and high culture? Are we missing something that reflects the world as it is, rather than the world as we think we would wish it to be? And can the precise and the natural co-exist in society?



Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Published: 05/07/2019
ISBN: 9780062652560
Pages: 416
Weight: 0.60lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.30w x 1.00d
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SKU: 86242794976

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The Granny Nanny
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Dye comes off. Stained hands and dog fur.
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Literally dyed my hand and my dogs fur blue from the paint coming off immediately after opening the box. I have washed my hand multiple times and it’s still this color. I have given up on my dog’s fur. I’m assuming whatever it was wasn’t great for her to digest.
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Not chew proof but great for stimulating your dog!
Size: Large, Color: Octopus - Multi Color, Size: Large, Color: Octopus - Multi Color
8 legs gone in one night! Haha to be expected because my dog is a heavy chewer. Like other costumers we are left with a blue ball which she still plays with. It’s a great toy for days that my dog really needs to get energy out. She was so tired after, she was panting like she ran for miles. I suggest combining physical exercise with things like purposeful chewing or licking toys to tired them out. Doing this has reduced my dog’s anxiety tremendously over the years therefore reducing destruction of our furniture 😅 a tired pup is a happy pup!
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