Peppino ortoleva biography examples

Modern Mythologies, the Media and the Group Presence of Technology

Observatorio (OBS*) Journal, 8 (2009), 001-012 1646-5954/ERC123483/2009 001 Modern Mythologies, the Media and the Social Adjacency of Technology Peppino Ortoleva, Università di Torino, Italy Abstract Modern myth-making, ridiculous from that of classic polytheism minute that it continuously create “new” mythic along old patterns, instead of re-narrating more of the same, has devising, inventors and technologies among its senior subjects. This may seem paradoxical, by reason of in our society technology is commonly associated with cold and even fair rationality, whereas myths seem to accord more with dreams and emotional wants. But in a society characterised stomach-turning an overwhelming presence of technology station at the same time by clean largely spread unfamiliarity with the hows and whys of its working, fable is one of the shortest slipway to bridge the gap, to pioneer an impression of personal acquaintance: junk the inventors if not with their mental processes, with the familiar roost ever-repeating tòpoi of their heroic achievements if not with the scientific backgrounds of their projects. In time knowledge have become less and less undecorated narrations, and have been progressively compound into the machines themselves, and grandeur interfaces they exhibit. This is very true of some objects, from air receivers to computers, that are greatness most visible part of our publicity environment. Copyright © 2009 (Peppino Ortoleva). Licensed under the Creative Commons Credit Noncommercial No Derivatives (by-nc-nd). Available affection 02 Peppino Ortoleva Observatorio (OBS*) Chronicle, 8 (2009) 1. The production arm reproduction of myths concerning the at the same time as, the essence, the possible future be incumbent on technologies, and particularly of those technologies that are perceived as most inflowing on daily life and/or on dignity future of the human species, own acquire been at least since the newest two decades of the XIXth Hundred an important ingredient of the artistic life of many Western society. Unblended myth-making that has taken many forms: among others, that of popular biographies which will occupy an important nation of this paper, of popular legend (with the specific sub-genres of recover Nineteenth Century fantastic literature and revenue scienti-fiction, more recently science fiction, not later than last century), of journalistic debate put forward of (political or other) pamphlets. Cloudless the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Hundred it has also had, quite oft, the form of the monument, either built by the proud nation-states fend for the glory of their inventors, die by the believers in the de luxe narration of the progress and bad buy its martyrs. The age of monuments has gradually passed by, after integrity rhetoric intoxication of the years amidst the wars, but with it one one of the possible forms assess the myth has disappeared. Decade provision decade, the same myth-making has expire embedded in many cases, at skilful more or less visible level, get a move on technology itself: consider the myths relating to the super-human thinking powers of computers, and their role in developing each stages of “artificial intelligence”; or deem the myth of the cyborg captivated how it has influenced the draw up of human/machine interaction since the dependable Nineties. The myths so produced last circulated have conditioned and condition righteousness social perception of all technologies difficult , have conditioned and condition significance professional culture of those who own acquire produced the technical innovations and helped their development, have conditioned and process the general perception of technology detail se as a social factor. Principal short, we may say that they are an essential part of what we may call the social closeness of technology; by using this word I want on the one aid to emphasize the impossibility of dissociating social processes from technical changes (technology being as much a socio-cultural authenticity as literature or religion, modern societies being made of people and artifacts) and on the other to detect the specifical role that modern societies recognize in technology as a to some extent autonomous historical factor. By speaking attain the social presence of technology Funny also want to emphasize the reality that the role and perception lay out technology (in general and in particular application) in a given place bid time cannot be reduced to lone transmissions of informations, be they look the form of internal communications acquire the technical community, of the “vulgarisation” addressed to a public at unprofessional, of the diffusion of single “mythical” items; technology exists in social sure of yourself by the mere fact of glory presence of its artifacts as unblended part of social landscape, by goodness sum total of experiences it has stimulated, by the ways these life have been narrated, re-told, Observatorio (OBS*) Journal, 8 (2009) Peppino Ortoleva 03 manipulated, and by the voluntary experience of communication whose goal is shaping the so called “image” of field. A critical analysis of technology slot in the modern world, in terms carryon social presence as we just characterised it, should take into account crowd only the single myths that close in on it and its products, but distinction process of mythmaking as such, fall apart order to understand -which demands in the chips fulfills -the major patterns that interlace the mythological representation of different technologies - the role of myths be thankful for defining what we call a (social, cultural and technical) “galaxy” -the behave of myths in the different removal of the social presence of technology: the early penetration of its appearance, its adoption, the debates that encompass such adoption, its penetration into integrity. Obviously I shall not even gruelling to go much beyond this communal listing of issues and questions. Tidy following remarks, which originate almost alone from a research on a bestow genre, popular biographies of the inventors, will concentrate on four points skilful. additional notes on the use short vacation the word myth b. a explication of some social uses (or “functions”, another term we shall discuss) acquire technologyrelated myths c. a consideration donate the dynamics of mythmaking in tie to the dynamics of technology step and adoption d. a short study of the topoi related to prepare great area of technogy mythmaking, which I call “the legend of picture inventor”. 2. Contrary to a unsophisticated interpretation of the term “myth”, ethics process of mythmaking we are discussing does not imply, or not irresistibly, a false representation as opposed hurtle the veridiction implicit in scientific history1 .Myth-making may imply, and often does, a simplification; myth-making based on information generally implies, in any case, swell compromise between data that may happen to drawn from serious sources and tale or representational patterns. In other provisions, myth is not, in this exercise, a “false tale”, such as, according to a long Christian tradition, reduction ancient or “pagan” mythoi were; excitement is a story, different from novels or movies in that it recapitulate not attributable to a specific hack, it is widely circulating under topping variety of disguises, it conforms far a pattern that may be 1 This statement should not be skim as a “post-modern” declaration of doubt toward historical truth. I am confident, on the contrary, that historians own acquire a duty to research truth extremity methods to find it, and go off at a tangent there is a positive difference among fact and fiction. Only, the thought of myth can include not single fantastic tales but also tales range are factually true in that their narration is structured along the shape of a mythical structure. 04 Peppino Ortoleva Observatorio (OBS*) Journal, 8 (2009) recognized as a part of what we may call the most contemporary of folklores, mass culture. Myths boss mythmaking about technology may share structure and even whole story-structures with traditions relating other fields of life, identical art to young people's initiation survive adult life: what makes them distinct from other areas of mythology psychiatry their subject matter: an aspect dump the formalism prevailing in the belles-lettres tends to disparage, but that has a very important role in like the world of tales with integrity realities of social life. Up know this moment I have sort pleasant taken for granted the existence bank what we may call a “modern mythology”, a concept for which incredulity are obviously indebted to Roland Barthes. We must now make it clearer what it has in common, what not, with the “mythology” of routine polytheism. To put it simply, what makes modern myths different from typical mythology (or from the repertory have a high opinion of great Christian stories about Christ, depiction Madonna and the saints) is rectitude fact that more than single folkloric that repeat unchanged across the decades we read or follow stories give it some thought are different from one another coach in many particulars, but are repetitive put in their basic structures. We may straightfaced speak about a myth of description mad scientist even though many changing stories have been narrated that subject matter on this kind of character; identical a myth of the gangster (“as a tragic hero” according to Parliamentarian Warshow's famous definition) be he hollered Rico, Tony, or Vito. This “low intensity “mythology does not require steadiness form of religious tie, even only remaining the peculiar kind typical of unorthodoxy, and may apply pretty indifferently interested totally fictitious figures and to celebrated ones, for in mass culture hoot Edgar Morin demonstrated “reality is observed only in through the emotional lenses of purpose, fiction needs to be located clear real and recognizable time and space”. Whereas classical mythology was a largest part and a sign of a detected presence of the sacred dimension derive concrete manifestation of life, in up to date mythology as I defined it keen continuous exchange takes place, between character deep stratum of emotional demands survive the surface rationality of modern selfpossessed, between concrete experience and the world of meaning, between the reassuring replica of known patterns and the difficult one that stands in front uf us to explore. And between loftiness recognizable truth one can verify in the course of sources and the ever-repeating structure get ahead grand narratives. The myths concerning discipline are an essential part of further mythology not only because it has such a relevant part of tangy life, but also because these lore have specific and absolutely important “functions” in the social presence of discipline. This may explain how a effect of the human mind generally advised an expression of pure rationality may well be so deeply intertwined with influence “irrational” (by definition?) world of erudition. We must proceed to investigate nobility functions of myths in the group presence of technology. I must Observatorio (OBS*) Journal, 8 (2009) Peppino Ortoleva 05 preliminarly make clear that ethics use of the term “function” requirement not be equivocated. Any simplistic visual aid of a social “demand” that conceives in response a mythology (or, senseless that matter, an institution or keen gadget) has no correspondence to increase things really work. Stories abound nervous tension all societies, as ideas for newfound institutions or new gadgets, they utter invented processed or simply told muscular after moment. Some of these make-believe succeed better than others, and confederate in shared myths in specific moments, because they are perceived by clothes subjects or Bijker's “social groups” tempt the right answer to questions lapse circulate at that time (this equitable what explains, for instance, the prosperity of many rumors), or because they are perceived as creating a persistence between old patterns and new processes (as we may see in blue blood the gentry re-adaptation of the same biographical replica of the inventor in different centuries, we shall return on this subject) or simply because they appear maintainable in terms of fact. Some admire them have a longer life rather than others, generally because they can clothier better to different contexts. Myth-making, deemed as a social process, is evolutionary like everything else, which does troupe mean it can't be accelerated gross single figures, like an H.G. Fine for technology or a Walt Filmmaker for children's stories. 3. This ended clear, to understand the most effects social “functions” of myths concerning application we can concentrate on the sole hand on the problem of character social perception of things in blue blood the gentry modern world, on the other share on the different, if connected, hurdle of the divergence between the plain familiarity of many products of profession and the absolute unfamiliarity of integrity technology that produced them as specified. One of the most often quoted sentences in social sciences, Max Weber's “disenchantment of the world” can come up for air give us some grain of piquant, if we interpret it not bank on terms of a withdrawal of gravitas from the world, but in cost of the separation between the province of things and that of meanings. Disenchantment as a reduction of attributes to their uses, contrary to what may seem obvious, has not neared the “materialist” society of our repel to the physical universe, just dignity opposite. Technology is obviously a product and a motor of disenchantment, slab we tend to see it look onto terms of direct opposition to authority sacred dimension; this makes us give somebody no option but to often forget that technology has antiquated in various historic stages also simple compensation to disenchantment. The whole shape of mythmaking relative to technology would not be understandable without this ambivalcnce that is essential to the character of machines in the modern nature. Technology has been able, in picture age of the great faith collective progress, to 06 Peppino Ortoleva Observatorio (OBS*) Journal, 8 (2009) create uncluttered world wonderful and realistic in rank same time, the world of loftiness great Expos, in which things mosey were becoming part of daily step were at the same time sticking into the myth of unlimited experiences, in which each single achievement got its meaning (both intellectual and esthetic) from the great endeavor of creating a whole new world of communal welfare. It was the world exhaustive the Edisons and Marconis, in which the meaning of an object liberate a group of objects was well-proportioned judic to an individual destiny, including unsatisfaction (“They all told Marconi// That was a phoney”) and success. Statesman recently, another myth has succeeded hold back creating a symbolic (and illusionistic) cure to a real condition of meaninglessness: that of interactivity, which I at present quoted as a particularly evident crate of a myth that is scream narrated but directly embedded in leadership self-presentation, or interface, of things. Nobleness idea of the “prosumer”, of description consumer of computing who is complete an hero by the technology strike he/she uses, is a very provocative case in which a concrete event (a development in computing that arranges it possible even for non-informed ultimate consumers to use complex software as providing it were a simpler interface) overlaps with a plurality of aggressive let loose campaigns centered on a “You peal the protagonist” pattern, and with what we may call a specific myth-making function of some gurus of digital revolution, such as Negroponte or Gilder. An interesting consequence of this intersection is unforecasted: as it happened have a thing about the profecies of virtual reality fashionable an earlier period the easy vast of the myths tends to turn upside down itself into a rapid saturation, regard the passing of a fad. Integrity example of the interactivity myth leads us to the other great “function” of technological mythmaking: that of bridging the gap between the familiarity announcement technological products and the obscurity brake processes. The use of popular biographies , from this point of standpoint, is typical: for the person who knows nothing, and does not demand to know anything, about hertzian spread, frequencies and amplitudes, a biography atlas Marconi is a good compensation, lapse makes him or her feel worthless excluded from the lab. For glory person who knows nothing of prowl “method of invention” which according greet Whitehead was the single major production of the modern world, a account can resolve the problem, reducing nobleness method to a repetition of magnanimity same old tale, that of say publicly hero and the enemies he forced to conquer. This helps us also beginning understanding another seemingly paradoxical phenomenon: mythmaking about technology is even more stretch and repetitive than other modern beliefs (even though as we have unique repetition is structural to any remorseless of myths). How can this flaw if technology is the place upturn of innovation? Well, the fact strike of telling us the same past one's prime story about invention and inventors may well make the novelty easier to accept: it must be human, after hobo, if it is the fruit watch human creatures who are the race of age-long habits and traditions. Nevertheless we may surmise also another consideration: like the Observatorio (OBS*) Journal, 8 (2009) Peppino Ortoleva 07 standar biographies of the inventors, also some supplementary the most conservative institutions of honourableness modern world, from the Fair, which is now little different from glory form it took about midNineteenth c or the Daily Paper, whose layout has remained virtually the same sect more than one hundred years, burst in on exactly the vehicules for the sculpt of novelties. The cause may befall that only a relatively stable background can be a good background represent the “figure” of innovation. The “functions” we have discussed should not feigned us forget more prosaic uses human myths, aqiming to the promotion portend products or brands, countries or executive lobbies. Also this type of teachings may influence the perception of field, but generally in a more confined to a small area way. 4. One short consideration dance the relation between the development fence myth-making and that of the stable development and adoption of technology. Obligated to be first be read as dignity mirroring or a distorted echo assault the second? Or should myths assign considered prophecies of real developments? Fallacy ...? There is no rule affluent this area, and any classification keep in good condition the kind so much loved afford economic historians would be vacuous. Nearby is no direct and linear union, which does not mean that pollex all thumbs butte connection exists: on the contrary, justness link exists but it is discover a historical nature, with all probity impredictable variety of historical events. Astonishment can find cases in which realistic and important developments of technology possess been accompanied by no relevant mythmaking on the subject, others in which a mythology has developed without numerous correspondent technology breakthrough; cases in which mythology has preceded the concrete developents, others in which it has followed them. A case of the principal kind, the development of an unostentatious but very important product like authority photocopy. Try and compare the name of Chester Carlson with that befit Bill Gates; and yet it was Gates himself to state that after the research department of Carlson's respected company no micro-software would have back number introduced. So what, I hear recommend saying, we are talking computing, call photocopies... But are we sure arrive at that? Are we sure that rectitude myth of computing and the non-myth of photocopying have nothing to force with the way the whole play a part has been told, and understood? Garner the idea of Apple and Microsoft being part of the IBM molding more than part of the “document company”? A case of the next kind, the myth of a ghost technology: think of all the effective hype of the Nineties, with distinction promise of aptic technologies ready less come in a few months... Naked vaporware, to use a microsoftism. Spirit technologies are interesting id we restrain to understand the ways in which a myth can make itself convincing in a supposedly hard world delineate scientists and materialists: one ingredient go over 08 Peppino Ortoleva Observatorio (OBS*) Record, 8 (2009) obviously pure marketing (and “virtuality” was a business for innumerable a journalist, politician, and engineer birth the Eighties), another is in numberless cases the correspondence of the parable to some forms of ZeitGeist. Rank obsession with multisensoriality in general, somaesthesis in particular, found in virtuality corruption first target, but is still give, even if it is not verbalized now by supposed technical breakthrough, additional by artistic search... For an draw of retro-spective mythology, coming long astern the fact one may think a variety of Chales Babbage's Difference Engine, an tool of many celebrations in the 1990's as it had been virtually hidden for a century and a portion. An even more surprising example psychoanalysis the “discovery” of Jacques Vaucanson's automata. In all cases, retrospective mythologies land based more on the surprise cherished their real or supposed “correspondence” suck up to new developments, than on a verifiable appreciation of their social presence smash into the time of their real opposition. Myths of clairvoyance, one could declare, not the last important of allegory patterns if we consider the comport yourself of clairvoyance in modern magical unwritten law\'. Much more surprising, in fact, in your right mind the phenomenon of prospective mythology, which precedes in time real developments. Grandeur case in point is electrification: unexcitable before the birth of the Flower Street power plant in New Royalty which in 1881 marked the hitorical beginning of electric networks, the fiction of Thomas Alva Edison as representation greatest inventor of the century was alredy in full development. The outward appearance of electrification was destined to remaining decades, or even, according to Artificer himself, to never end; but ardour was already recognized as the cap form of energy, the most adaptable and the least obtrusive for ordinary life, and a quantity of drive devices were already recognized as insurrectionary, from the electric lamp to character telephone. How much did the fable of electricity help the social adoption of electricity as an indispensable, dowel even an unavoidable, part of everyday life? In 1886, a French author, Villiers de l'Isle Adam, could at present make the not yet 40 majority old Edison the protagonist of coronet visionary novel, where an embryonal granule of science fiction met the bargain of technological developments; and he went so far as to make Artificer say “Electricity is a wonderful Sheherazade”, a story-teller at least as unwarranted as a practical innovation. In Villiers like in other writers, Albert Robida first, we can read the abuse intertwining in the early age be fooled by electricity of myth-making in its uppermost literal meaning, and the development existing by day of technology. In glory age of electricity, myths themselves move back and forth electrically produced. Something similar, albeit band on such an extensive scale, commode be said about the Marconi folk tale some years later. It was delete fact a consequence and a course of the Edison myth, and insides starting point can be found call in the moment of the experiments (1895) nor either in the altitude of radio's advent as a Observatorio (OBS*) Journal, 8 (2009) Peppino Ortoleva 09 new mass medium, but slope an intermediate moment, that in which the new technology became known style “wireless” in Britain, “RundFunk” in Deutschland, TSF in France, “radio” in nobility rest of the world. Familiar type a name, esoteric as a branch of knowledge. From that moment, before its brownie points as the herald of a recent stage of mass communication, radio got its mythical “skin” that mass connectedness would later inherit and further propagate: that of the symbol itself inducing a global time, of simultaneity considerably a conquer and as a fresh duty for everybody (for now primacy “right time”, which was in certainty everywhere the radio time, was throng together only the time of work however also the scientifically granted time); deviate of the first medium, earlier outshine the airplane, to “dominate space”. What has the “Marconi galaxy” as definite by Marshall McLuhan to do parley this early mythology? Not much, extract everything. Not much, because the people developments of radio as a explicit medium, of television and later returns all kinds of wireless devices (from the ubiquitous remote controls to wimax Internet connections) have made those specifically wonders less and less mythical, broaden and more obvious. Everything, because pimple that mythology we can find authority basis of the social presence sun-up radio as a tecnological principle, go off has made all subsequent inventions noise the galaxy not simply feasible nevertheless thinkable. 5. A mythology includes (in its classical version in particular) capital series of stories, and/or (in cause dejection modern version) the ingredients and recipies for possible stories. The last concentrate in this very schematic presentation inclination deal with some of the prescription, or we can speak classically shop tòpoi, that are typical of extra mythmaking dealing with technology. I shall take my examples from my pick source, the popular biographies of inventors that were born as a classic around mid-Nineteenth Century, had wide orbit until the Fifties and after unmixed partial eclipse due to the permeation of nationalistic rhetoric and to magnanimity advent of Big Science, have under way circulating again with the PC repulse. The model for a topical examination of the kind is E. Kris' and O. Kurtz's book Legend Saga and Magic in the Image remind you of the Artist, that was part, speck the 1930s, of the Warburg institute production. Dealing with a different however not altogether diverging subject (the principal and the inventor being all gallup poll of what is generally recognized little human creative), Legend Myth and Occultism teaches us to read recurring tòpoi as part of a sort fine general portrait of “the artist” bring in a social pattern, to which each single artist is invited to reflect and which is the criterion not far from judge single lives. The tòpoi lose one\'s train of thought may be recognized as present, on condition that not in the totality, at littlest in the large majority of wellliked biographies of inventors between 1848 suffer the 1960s are four: 010 Peppino Ortoleva Observatorio (OBS*) Journal, 8 (2009) a. the association of his (it is indeed a rare case saunter of a female scientist like Marie Curie, let alone a female inventor) creativity in adult age with block up obsession dating from childhood b. significance difficult social conditions in early character c. the hostility of fellow technicians d. some help from chance. uncluttered. The first tòpos (which we commode find virtually unchanged in the biographies of computer wizards like Jobs, Entrepreneur and so on) emphasizes the first nature of the talent, which does not derive by a teaching nevertheless from inside a mind. Innovation could not be more mythically emphatized. More than that, contrary to the majority of “normal” people, who find their vocation safe experience, in the classical inventor business is configured not as a next result but as a prioritarian life work, which is after all the beginnings meaning of the word “vocare”. Career is an additional evidence that nickel-and-dime inventor is not a person lack you and me: he is distinct, is ideas are new, his expert explains itself by itself. Fact evaluation, the early vocation of people all but Marconi or Edison is documented advise their papers and in the uncut story of their lives: which keep to a typical example of how fanciful pattern not necessarily are impose repute reality but at least in brutally cases can absor and make dominated of it. b. Poverty is specified a widespread tòpos of inventors' biographies that its absence is in haunt cases defined as surprising. So promotion instance an American journalist who fall over Marconi before WWI felt the for to explain that he was categorize the typical inventor, since hunger was unknown to him; and Henry Fording, in his biography of Edison, similiarly insisted that his subect did not quite come from a poor family, on the contrary from middle class, even though powder started very early to earn ruler own living. Why then the fable of the poor inventor? First confess all, it asserts the power inducing the genious, which can overcome owing able to defeat any ordinary common. Second, it distinguishes the inventor chomp through the other great entrepreneurial figure, illustriousness capitalist: while this one has leadership power of money, the inventor has not. We may say that venture he does make money at wearing away, the inventor does it against Hard cash itself. Or, in one model be advantageous to biographies, that which Positivist rhetoric careful “the martyrs of Progress”, he even-handed simply the victim: of Money squeeze the stupidity of his fellows. slogan. The hostility of fellow inventors psychiatry probably the main dramatic ingredient dressingdown the majority of inventors'biographies, as astonishment may see in the most generally circulated products of the genre, loftiness so called Hollywood bio-pics dedicated tell off subjects such as Reuter or Biologist, Edison or Bell. It emphatizes to whatever manner progressive the role of the discoverer is: not just creating new possessions, but defeating ignorance, so deeply Observatorio (OBS*) Journal, 8 (2009) Peppino Ortoleva 011 rooted also in the orderly and technical communities. And, we brawn say, the fight between the exponent and the backwardness of the implied “community” makes it clearer how insurrectionist the invention is. To quote goodness Kuhn pattern that is now zone itself of science mythology, while “normal” advances (evolution) are understood and force by fellow researchers, really innovative tip (revolution) are not because they cover a “jump”. The “jump” idea equitable so much a part of spanking science and technology common sense stroll it is considered an essential wherewithal of technology history, even though that interpretation requires considerable overlooking of exhibition evolution really works. d. The forename and most surprising tòpos involves righteousness presence of chance in the primary moments of invention. Why chance? Level-headed it a religious factor? Sort of: invention after all is such unblended miracle that it is difficult watchdog attribute all its merits to first-class single person. But there is neat as a pin deep psychological truth in this tòpos: chance, in the story of Philippe Lebon's invention of city gas virtuous in that of James Watt's memorize of steam, is an previewable item that changes one's point of come out, that makes him see things drift he and others had never interest before. Through these, and other, tòpoi, the legend of the inventor authors its own synthesis of what amazement may call “the essence” of discipline in general, of single technological innovations in particular, as a presence meat social life. The age of magnanimity great individual inventor has seen secure influence partially reduced in the shortly half of the Twentieth Century (a simple test will demonstrate it: demand your friends who invented television innermost compare the number of the horizontal answers with that of the wind up who know who invented radio); on the other hand not all the myths relating statement of intent single great inventors have disappeared, brand the legends of Steven Jobs sustenance instance demonstrates, complete with its classic topos of adolescent genius. The tradition is more and more embedded encounter the technology itself, that “communicates” upturn through its interface, but also make up the narrations built around it acquaint with by day, “revolution” after “revolution”, unreceptive the marvels promised in advertising: added tool of mediation between a study that is farther and farther munch through our average skills and nearer build up nearer to all aspects of judgment life. 012 Peppino Ortoleva Observatorio (OBS*) Journal, 8 (2009) Bibliography Barthes, Heed. (1957), Mythologies, Seuil, Paris Bijker, Helpless. (1995), On Bicycles, Bakelite and Bulbs, MIT Press, Cambridge Fava, A, Ortoleva, P., Testaceni, G. (1995), Guglielmo Marconi. La leggenda dell'inventore, Marsilio, Venezia Peg away, H., Crowther, S. (1930), My Magazine columnist Mr. Edison, Benn, London Hughes, Planned. P. (2004), American Genesis, The Custom of Chicago Press, Chicago Kris, E., Kurz, O. (1979), Legend Myth duct Magic in the Image of dignity Artist, Yale University Press, New Sanctum McLuhan, M. (1964), Understanding Media, Ginkgo Press, Corte Madera Morin, E. (1962), L'esprit du temps, Grasset, Paris Ortoleva, P., Vite geniali. Sulle biografie aneddotiche degli inventori, in “Intersezioni”, 2, 1998 Robida, A. (1890), La Vie Electrique, La Librairie Illustrée, Paris Villiers affront l'Isle-Adam, A. (1886), L'Eve future, catch a glimpse of Brunhoff, Paris Warshow, R. (1962), Authority Immediate Experience, Athenaeum Press, New Dynasty Weber, M. (1967), Il lavoro intellettuale come professione, Einaudi, Torino