The discoverers
by Daniel J. Boorstin · first published 1983
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Broad narrative history of how people came to understand the world, covering discoveries like timekeeping and early technology with cultural context; suits readers wanting a wide survey rather than a single specialty.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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If you're interested in this, the absolutely wonderful book "The Discoverers" by Daniel Boorstin goes into a lot of detail on how humankind discovered time and developed methods to keep time.
on “The Hourglass: An underrated invention (2013)” ↗A fantastic book that deals with the cultural significance of timekeeping along with other ancient technological advancements is The Discoverers by Daniel Boorstin. http://www.amazon.com/Discoverers-Daniel-J-Boorstin/dp/03947...
The Discoverers: A History of Man’s Search to Know His World and Himself - Daniel J. Boorstin How Innovation Works: And Why It Flourishes in Freedom - Matt Ridley The Technology Trap: Capital, Labor, and Power in the…
on “Ask HN: Good Books on the History of Technology?” ↗Thumbs up fir Bryson. To take it a step further, Boorstin's "The Discoverers" is a longer, more encompassing version of scientific discoveries. Also, "Empires of Light" is a great chronology of events and people(Tesla, Edison, Westinghouse, JP Morgan) leading to the modern, electric…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books on the history of ideas and inventions?” ↗An absolutely terrific book about (among other things) this is The Discoverers by Daniel J. Boorstin. He goes into a lot of detail on how map making in Europe for the longest time was driven, as you say, more by religious importance than anything else. Interestingly when Europeans…
on “Mappa Mundi – A map that survived 700 years [video]” ↗…From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life 1500 to the Present (2001) The Ancient City by Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges (1864) Intellectuals By Paul Johnson Daniel J. Boorstin - The Discoverers The Great Courses - The Industrial Revolution (audiobook/lectures) Decline of the West - Spengler
on “Ask HN: What nonfiction books do you keep rereading?” ↗…not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge. Imagination drew in bold strokes, instantly serving hopes & fears, while knowledge advanced by slow increments and contradictory witnesses." - Boorstin The Discoverers
on “Humans once opposed coffee and refrigeration: why we often hate new stuff” ↗…of a short history of nearly everything: "Imagination drew in bold strokes, instantly serving hopes and fears, while knowledge advanced by slow increments and contradictory witnesses." -Boorstin The Discoverers edit: add a link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Discoverers
on “In 1562 Map-Makers Thought America Was Full of Mermaids, Giants, and Dragons” ↗…librarian of the US Library of Congress: "Imagination drew in bold strokes, instantly serving hopes and fears, while knowledge advanced by slow increments and contradictory witnesses." Boorstin -The Discoverers https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Discoverers
on “Researchers suggest that R.E.M. sleep serves to warm the brain” ↗