The Evolution of Useful Things: How everyday artifacts--from forks and pins to paper clips and zippers--came to be as they are by Henry Petroski struck me as just the collection of eclectic things all wrapped together that might be interesting.
Started: 11/18/2016
Completed: 12/8/2016
Recommendation: Recommended
Recommended By: Nobody
Review:
FORM DOES NOT FOLLOW FUNCTION argues this author at every turn. Petroski offers seemingly endless examples of how inventors seek to fix the flaws in previous inventions or solve some shortcoming in life. Petroski demonstrates that solutions do not arrive fully formed and are almost always an incremental step from something that came before. The argument is compelling. The story of the invention of seemingly every day things (like the paper clip) is interesting on its own even if the narrative is frequently interrupted to restate the author's thesis. The interruption becomes annoying over time, but the case is not lost on me. This book is a good read and offers some insight into how inventors go about their lives for those of us who are not inventors.
FORM DOES NOT FOLLOW FUNCTION argues this author at every turn. Petroski offers seemingly endless examples of how inventors seek to fix the flaws in previous inventions or solve some shortcoming in life. Petroski demonstrates that solutions do not arrive fully formed and are almost always an incremental step from something that came before. The argument is compelling. The story of the invention of seemingly every day things (like the paper clip) is interesting on its own even if the narrative is frequently interrupted to restate the author's thesis. The interruption becomes annoying over time, but the case is not lost on me. This book is a good read and offers some insight into how inventors go about their lives for those of us who are not inventors.
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