Feb/Mar 1977 RAIN Page 15 Learning from the Past We don't baae to stdrt from scratcb to / deaelop uays of 'doiTrg tbings tbat are more bumane and more appropriate for our enierging resource conditions. We haue tbe legaay of the work of millions of people tbroughout bistory wbo bazte explored untold numbers of different uays to do almost eaerytbing..Tbey'ae forgotten more tban ue'll eoer knou, l but a lot has been'written down in tbese and otber sources. Relatiaely minor cbanges in the balance of costs of people's work, materials and transportation baae caused us to set aside perfectly workable techniques that are still aalid. Compare d, c ombine d, improae d, newlyunderstood; and openly sbared, they can offer a lot. Most of tbe rest is scaling down, simplifuing, borrowing from others, refining and trying. Science and Cioitiwtion in Cbina, Joseph Needham, . 1962, from, Cambridge University Press 32 East 57th New York, NY 10022 A vast goldmine of information on ways of thought different from our own and the incredible technologies developed over 4OOO years in one of,the most pro' ductive cultures on our planet. The volumes produced so fai include introductory orientations, history of scientific thought, mathematics, scibnces of the hedvens and the earth, physics, mechanical engineering and building, , chemistry and medicine. The volumes are very expensive ($30-$50 each), so get them at the library (or through inter{ibrary loan). -Appbkg o hQ-ghzc to a usvl by fring it upsilIc doon on a lnongcd suptort ksidc anothcr ocssd @uhing a mufr-kiln). History of TechnologJ,,5 vols., Charles Singer, ed.,1954-58, $53 each from: : Oxforil University Press 200 Madison Ave. New York, NY 10016 A massive collection of fascinating information on how things were d"one in different times and placei-Ancient Empires, Mediterranean Civilizarions, Middle Ages, Renaissance, and lgth Century. This does for the European culture what Needham does for -China. Waterwheels and grain mills built on boats anchored in the middle of streams, how to make lost-wax castings and a wealth of other techniques t[at turn the impossible into the'possible by just being clever. Trqditionat Crafts of Penia, Hans Wulff, 1966, $7 .95 from, MIT Press 28 Carleton St. Cambridge, MA 02142 Records in readable yet technically clear language the wide range of technologies of the traditional Persian culture: metallurgy and metal working, jewelry, lockmaking, woodworking, c.9mb making, building, brickmaking, tiles.and gl.azing, textiles, :arpet weavrng, irrigation, agricultural methods, windmills and oil milling, A wealth of valuable information. Cbina at Work, Rudolf P. Hommel, 1937, $3.95 from' MIT Press 28 Carleton Street Cambridge, MA OZl42 The sometimes strange-seeming tools pnd ways of working of other iultures can be a mind-opening stimulus to rethinking our own patterns. Why do the Japanese pull their saws insread of pushing them? Why do some Chinese boats look so stiange-with bow and stern twisted to opposite sides? How can such "primitive" tools work so efficiently? How could the Persians make their beautiful geometrically-inlaid boxes so .cheaply? Cbina at Work surveys the traditional Chinese tools and their usestoo_ls for making tools, producing food, making clothing, providing shelter and enabling rransporr. Excellent box bellows, how to mend cast iron, the Chinese origin of the "American" washboard, making roof tiles and caulki1g boats. The expedition that assembled this material was organized by Henry Mercer, whose tool museum in Doylestown, PA, is one of the most fascinating collections of tools in the world. Science and Cioiliution in Ishm, Seyyed H. Nasr, 1968, $15 from' Harvard University hess 79 Garden Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Far less comprehensive than Needham's masterpiece, but contains an extremely thought-provoking introductory section explaining the underlying purposes and practice of Islamic sciences-conceiving of science as a means for spiritual growth and considering an individual who specialized in one aspect of science or life to the detriment of othen to be unbalanced and a danger to society and oneself. The basis of lslamic sciences can offer a valuable yardstick with which to evaluate our own. t, *-t.-- --i" . Ilr.sorr..r; or C.rsr Inos. Skctch sho*'ing horv a fragmcnt ()f a cast iron is hclrl in I holq oi a cast iron brazier which is to be mcntlc.d. Thg outer shade<l surfacc rci)rcsents thc rvall of the brazicr in rvhich thc hole is found. Pieces of bamboo hold thc nrending picce in place and rhe space bctrvecn mending piece and the cdge of thc hole is lilled out by successive'appligltions, onc next to thc other, of thc liquid iron takcn frorn thc crucible. As soon as thc mending'piecc is held fast in rhe hole bv a fcrv applications'of the liquid cast iron (rvhich cools a" soon as applied) the birrnboo strips are removctl.
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