In the 18th century, the Industrial Revolution was one of several revolutions that overturned society. Mechanical creatures intruded into farms and homes, but still this invasion had no name. Finally, in 1802, Johann Beckmann, an economics professor at Gottingen University gave this ascending force its name [technology] . . . He hoped his outline [a textbook titled Guide to Technology] would become the first course in the subject. It did that and more. It also gave a name to what we do. Once named, we could now see it. Having seen it, we wondered how anyone could not have seen it.
Source: Kevin Kelly, What Technology Wants
Posted: 2025 Oct 18
Or check out this TEDxSF by Kelly.
Nice images Isabel. Come back in a few weeks after the eggs yet-to-be laid have hatched and it is neat to see the chicks sticking their long sharp beaks down the parent’s throat to obtain food.
Jim R – Stay tuned! I have one or two almost clear photos of the feeding. It triggers my gag reflex . . .
The only good thing that can be said about parent birds’ way of feeding their young is that it’s a lot more caring than the reptiles who simply abandon their offspring in the sand, on the shore, in the rushes, wherever. Bards are amazing creatures — their ability to operate in three dimensions, the sense of navigation, their ability to make tools, etc. — but their ways of feeding nestlings are not something I would recommend as an evolutionary example to follow.
Jim T
Jim T – Well, it seems to work for them, and *that’s* a good thing. And, like reading Nietzsche, I’m glad it’s not me.