Ana Millan Gasca – författare

M. LUCERTINI, A. MILLAN GASCA, AND F. NICOLO 1 Technology as Knowledge: The Case of Modern Engineering Systems In recent years scholars coming from the fields of history and philosophy of sci­ ence and technology have devoted much attention to the problem of "technology as knowledge" and to the emergence of an autonomous engineering science in the Industrial Agel. This interest echoes a growing awareness among engineers of the independence of their conceptual approach with respect to other forms of knowl­ edge, linked to the consolidation of autonomous academic engineering research in th the 20 century. A careful examination of the nature of technological knowledge appears particularly valuable in view of the pervasive presence of technology in contemporary life and culture, not only as a result of its impressive achievements, but through the less obvious influence of its concepts and viewpoints as well. The activity of engineers and technicians has been traditionally based on the practical ability to cope with specific situations and to attain the corresponding specific goal by means of the design and realization of an artifact or structure, on the basis of past experience handed down by tradition and applied by means of trial-and-error and rule-of-thumb procedures. But the existence of a theoreti­ cal background and of principles underpinning this activity can be traced back to classical antiquity.

M. LUCERTINI, A. MILLAN GASCA, AND F. NICOLO 1 Technology as Knowledge: The Case of Modern Engineering Systems In recent years scholars coming from the fields of history and philosophy of sci­ ence and technology have devoted much attention to the problem of "technology as knowledge" and to the emergence of an autonomous engineering science in the Industrial Agel. This interest echoes a growing awareness among engineers of the independence of their conceptual approach with respect to other forms of knowl­ edge, linked to the consolidation of autonomous academic engineering research in th the 20 century. A careful examination of the nature of technological knowledge appears particularly valuable in view of the pervasive presence of technology in contemporary life and culture, not only as a result of its impressive achievements, but through the less obvious influence of its concepts and viewpoints as well. The activity of engineers and technicians has been traditionally based on the practical ability to cope with specific situations and to attain the corresponding specific goal by means of the design and realization of an artifact or structure, on the basis of past experience handed down by tradition and applied by means of trial-and-error and rule-of-thumb procedures. But the existence of a theoreti­ cal background and of principles underpinning this activity can be traced back to classical antiquity.

This collection of historical research studies covers the evolution of technology as knowledge, the emergence of an autonomous engineering science in the Industrial Age, the idea of scientific managment of production and operation systems, and the interaction between mathematical models and technological concepts.The book is published with the support of the UNESCO Venice Office - Regional Office for Science & Technology in Europe as an activity of the Project: The evolution of events, concepts and models in engineering systems.

Galileo and Newton’s work towards the mathematisation of the physical world; Leibniz’s universal logical calculus; the Enlightenment’s mathématique sociale. John von Neumann inherited all these aims and philosophical intuitions, together with an idea that grew up around the Vienna Circle of an ethics in the form of an exact science capable of guiding individuals to make correct decisions. With the help of his boundless mathematical capacity, von Neumann developed a conception of the world as a mathematical game, a world globally governed by a universal logic in which individual consciousness moved following different strategies: his vision guided him from set theory to quantum mechanics, to economics and to his theory of automata (anticipating artificial intelligence and cognitive science). This book provides the first comprehensive scientific and intellectual biography of John von Neumann, a man who perhaps more than any other is representative of twentieth century science.

Questo libro esamina l’origine delle sfide tecnologiche e organizzative dell’industria in Europa e negli Stati Uniti e le tappe della sua formulazione teorica; la creazione della figura dell’ingegnere industriale fra Ottocento e Novecento; e l’elaborazione delle discipline tecnologiche e del linguaggio e dei concetti fondamentali (sistema, automazione, controllo, ottimizzazione, rete) dell’ingegneria industriale moderna. Diviso in tre parti organizzate cronologicamente, ogni capitolo è corredato da letture, indicazioni bibliografiche per l’approfondimento e schede illustrative di aspetti storici, biografici (relativi a alcuni grandi ingegneri, scienziati e filosofi), terminologici e matematico-tecnici. Il volume si rivolge a studenti universitari del corso di Storia dell’Ingegneria Industriale, nato dall’esigenza, sempre più diffusa nelle Facoltà di Ingegneria, di offrire insegnamenti di profilo umanistico. L’impostazione del libro è tale da poter essere utilizzato come testo anche in corsi sui temi quali Storia dell’Ingegneria, Storia della Tecnologia, Storia dell’Europa, oltre che nei corsi di Cultura generale e nelle attività formative inserite nei piani di studi delle Facoltà di Ingegneria.