technological improvements

这是关于technological improvements 的两道问道题。
Question 1: Some examples of the “capture” of technological improvements and the means of “capture” in the four articles.

 Question 2. Do you think such examples convincingly support Friedel’s thesis that “a culture of improvement” existed in Western technology? Why or why not?

Question 1: Some examples of the “capture” of technological improvements and the means of “capture” in the four articles.

Firstly, capture is defined as “the means by which an improvement becomes not simply an ephemeral, contingent act or product, but part of a sustained series of changes.” (Friedel, 4-5). From the definition, we can get to know that “capture” refers to an innovation that brings a revolution for the specific fields and has persistent effect on the human beings’ civilization. So based on this analysis, it is easy to find the capture of technological improvement in the four articles.
In the article “The Medieval Horse Harness: Revolution or Evolution? A Case Study in Technological Change” written by Gans, the writer gives some researches on the medieval horse harness. He points out that “the horse collar, rather than being a revolutionary invention was in fact an evolutionary change that was part of the development of the horse as an agricultural animal.” (186) He thinks horse color is an evolutionary change for the agriculture. Though it is not a revolution, we can see that horse has taken the place of ox which is the traditional force in the agriculture. And this change has a persistent effect on the agriculture especially in Europe. To some degree, it fulfills the definition of “capture”. For this “capture”, we can conclude from this article that the improvement in the antique harness and the padded horse collar are the means of “capture”. Though Western Europe is not a natural horse country, with the civilization spread, the horse is induced into Europe. Moreover, the improvement in antique harness and the padded horse collar is basically the same as the medieval collar a thousand years later. (Gans, 181) So it is a “capture”.
From the article “Power” written by Friedel, we can get the capture that is “windmill” working under the wind power. Though the mechanism of the medieval windmill was so close to that of watermill, it is an obvious step in the technological improvement. Why? As is known to all, many places lack in water and the watermills will not run well. However, the wind is everywhere though the intensity of wind has some differences for different places. “While sailing ships, and thus use of the power of the wind, were ancient by medieval times, the translation of this idea into harnessing the wind for mechanical work was by no means an obvious step.” (Friedel, 10) It changes the traditional power and has a vital effect on people’s daily life. The mean of running the windmill is to construct the mill on a single huge wooden post to put a considerable burden on this post. This changes the traditional watermills’ position dependent on water sources.
From the article “Transforming Matter”, we can get the “capture” which refers to the gun after gunpowder. Though the gunpowder is created by Chinese, the generalization of it is done by Europeans. The existence of gun changes the format of the wars, which makes the war be full of thermal weapons rather than cold weapons. The effect is persistent though many evil aggressive wars occurs in the history river. We can also think of the invasion into ancient China which is launched by the powerful European countries. The gun can be the capture according to the definition.
From the article “Masons, Tricksters and Cartographers” written by Turnbull, I think the capture refers to the Gothic cathedral. Why? I think the Gothic cathedral is beyond the basic meaning “building” itself. It is a symbol of the connection between theory and practice. The popularization of this type of the building has implied that it has persistent effect on the latter European buildings. Its construction is based on much work including practical measures, theoretic figurations and so on. Without any of the two (Science and technology), it would not be built. The implementation in the latter projects especially the buildings projects also contains the two parts. Science provides the theoretic support for the project. While technology provides the necessary implementation experience which guarantees the efficient process of the project. So the Gothic cathedral is the capture according to the definition.
Question 2. Do you think such examples convincingly support Friedel’s thesis that “a culture of improvement” existed in Western technology? Why or why not?
I think it can support Friedel’s thesis that “a culture of improvement” existed in Western technology. In question 1, we have talked about the detailed captures in the four given articles. For instance, the gunpowder is created by Chinese people in ancient China, which is a common sense. However, after the gunpowder created in China, no obvious progress under the existent powder. The gunpowder is used for alchemy or recreation in the imperial palace. However, the true improvement in culture or the world format is created by western technology. The existence of gun changes the world war pattern which is changed from cold weapon times to thermal weapon times. To some degree, the thermal weapon wars widen the connections among the world. It accelerates the mixture of different cultures just like the mixture between the western culture and eastern culture. And meanwhile, as is known to all, though the thermal weapon wars bring much pain for the people in the colonies, it also strikes the decayed state apparatus, which encourages the people in the colonies to establish new governments and new political regimes in their motherland. What is more, just like the windmills created by western countries mentioned in the question 1, the innovation in the power changes the traditional power sources. The people in the western countries use new resources to change their life and meanwhile it accelerates the pace of social progress. Moreover, the technological innovation accelerate the development in culture. All the technological reformations exist in western countries though some basic technology lies in the eastern countries. So the examples in the question 1 can provide sufficient supports for Friedel’s thesis.

References
Turnbull, David. Masons, tricksters and cartographers: Comparative studies in the sociology of scientific and indigenous knowledge. Taylor & Francis, 2000.
Zenner, Marie-Thérèse, and Jean Gimpel, eds. Villard's Legacy: Studies in Medieval Technology, Science, and Art in Memory of Jean Gimpel. Vol. 2. Gower Publishing, Ltd., 2004.
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