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With time’s changing, new inventions were born that were originally used to improve specific parts of human functions. However, when people are no longer immersed in the joy of convenience brought by them, it seems that they will always be related to the current social and political biases that existed at that time. In this exhibition, all the artifacts I organized aim to express how this affects people differently over time. I divide it into three different stages in chronological order: people's concerns about new technologies and their partial privatization in the early 15th century; the control and utilization of citizens through new technologies in the early 20th century; late 20th century learning new technologies to improve the living conditions of specific groups.

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16th century-17th century

The appearance of printing has been celebrated as a major step in the advancement of technology and the development of Western civilization (Cook, 1996). In the early 1500s, with the birth of printing, concerns were first raised about the possible effects of the new technology, although they were both developed in China and Europe at similar periods, the high cost of both the bamboo paper used in China and the special parchment used in Europe at the time made the book itself an expensive luxury available only to the aristocratic elite. Moreover, most of the books initially printed in both countries were designed to mimic the style of handwritten books as closely as possible.

Another idea that took place at the time was the privatization of knowledge and the deep-rooted class system influenced the society at that time, despite the spread of printing in Europe in the late 17th century, the illiteracy rate was 80% and was linked to class and gender (Cook, 1996). Stereotypes were imposed on some professions that were considered low-level at the time. For example, seamen, although some experts at the time pointed out that they generally possess a reserve of navigation knowledge that far exceeds that of ordinary people, it was still interpreted as "there are certain levels within Seamen", and even the very few individuals who are recognized as "Expert Seamen", It was also difficult to receive equal treatment at the Royal Society academic seminar at that time (Hellawell, 2020).

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Early 20th Century:

At the beginning of the 20th century, affected by World War and the society at that time, people began to believe that there were differences between different races. Some newly born inventions and theories were gradually popularized, trying to control the people through various methods to achieve the purpose of improving the level of the city.

Eugenics is a set of theories trying to improve human genetic advantages by limiting or excluding certain genetic traits from reproduction. In the early 20th century, countries, mainly the United States and Germany, believed that whites or Aryans were inherently superior to other racial groups. In the United States, work centred on the Eugenics Record Office (ERO) gained widespread public interest at that time. Between 1910 and 1924, 258 ERO field workers "travelled across the country, gathering and classifying data on physical, mental and social traits in individuals, families, and locales." However, even then it was not recognized as a new scientific discipline, they were also expected to persuade state officials to support eugenic research, making eugenics part of a political tool that also represented gender and racial discrimination. A considerable number of political nativists and racists dominated NRO proceedings, influencing the consideration of the 'model sterilization statute' in 1919 (Bix,1997), which indirectly led to the forced sterilization of a large number of women with African and Gypsy ancestry.

A similar situation occurred during World War II, with the creation of the first Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC). Its initial functions required a large number of human resources to maintain its operation, and nearly two hundred young women are maintaining the normal operation as "human computers", ironically, their contribution and media image were completely weakened or even not correctly evaluated, reflecting the society's neglect and weakening of female workers at that time. It reflects ” A distorted history of technological development that has rendered women’s contributions invisible and promoted a diminished view of women’s capabilities in this field.”(Light,1999).

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Late 20th Century

As time came to the end of the 20th century, some groups began to realize that the birth of new technologies might bring opportunities across classes for some groups. For example, Since the racial prejudice that still exists after the war makes most traditional companies unwilling to provide jobs to blacks, computer-related industries have become opportunities for blacks to become elites. Black-related media began to publish publications that covered Black life, with its highs and lows and were also sharing stories of burgeoning computer systems and the heroic experts who were building modern America (Abbate, 2022). As black computer practitioners, they represent "restricted expression, identity, and information circulation in their predominantly white middle-class lives" and have developed an online community exclusive to the black group in an attempt to promote Black education through their own abilities. , culture, expression, and freedom (Abbate, 2022).

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Inventions at this stage aregenerally inspired by mankind's preservation forms and sources of knowledge. It also reflects the existence of stereotypes about privatized knowledge and specific occupations. Contains Artifacts 1-4.

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Video, Beautiful working replica of the Gutenberg printing press found at the Crandall Printing Museum in Provo, Utah. Contains the complete process of using the printing press.

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Two-page spread of the Book of Ecclesiastes from Johannes Gutenberg's 42-line Bible, c.1450–55.

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Middle English Texts Series gets a boost from NEH - Medievalists.net

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A pioneering initiative to make texts from the Middle Ages available to scholars and students around the world receives continued support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Middle English Texts Series “puts the literature out there for everybody.”

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Sailor standing at left has clothing typical of 16th century.

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The inventions of this phase were intended to improve the standard of living of mankind at that time and in the future, but after their creation, they were controlled by specific groups of people and gradually became tools for targeting specific groups and making political statements. Contains Artifacts 5-8.

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Documentary: The Dark side of Science: The Horror of Eugenics Theory.

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The Dark side of Science: The Horror of Eugenics Theory (Short Documentary)

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Found In The Archives: America's Unsettling Early Eugenics Movement: The Picture Show : NPR

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The American Eugenics Society promoted ideas of racial betterment and genetic education through public lectures, conferences, publications and exhibits at county and state fairs — like this chart labelled "The Triangle of Life" from the Kansas Free Fair.

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Programming the ENIAC: an example of why computer history is hard - CHM

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From 1948, the original demo program of the Manchester Baby: A 17-line demonstration to prove that the computer worked.

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A picture with John and Klara Dan von Neumann, they designed a monte-Carlo simulation of neutron decay during nuclear fission together, It gave useful and previously unknown answers. It also broke new ground by using a digital computer as a real-world simulator for problems that cannot be solved using traditional mathematics.

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The inherent problems of stereotyping and racial discrimination are gradually being attempted to be eliminated. New inventions, mainly computers, have brought rapid technological advances while helping disadvantaged groups, such as blacks, to strive for social equality, and at the same time have become an important opportunity to help them break away from discrimination. Contains Artifacts 9-10.

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National Urban League | History, Definition, & Facts | Britannica

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U.S. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson (centre) talking with civil rights leaders (from left) Martin Luther King, Jr., of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Whitney Young of the National Urban League, and James Farmer of the Congress of Racial Equality.

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Profile on Adamation in the 1991 premiere issue of NeXTWORLD Magazine. Pictured here are company founders Stephan and William Adams. Their father was a boiler operator on Navy ships in World War II and a typewriter repairman, who died when Stephan was in fifth grade. Their mother then raised them alone.

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Through the above descriptions, we find that almost all inventions are born to solve one problem and then create a new one, which may be related to the social or political environment at the time, but have in common the fact that to solve these problems, they seem to deviate from their original purpose over time. To popularize these new inventions, they are often ignored and compromised and allowed to develop in unpredictable ways. We always expect new inventions to change people's lives and influence the world, but this seems to be predetermined from the moment they are born.

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Abbate, J., & Dick, S. (2022). Chapter 12: Inventing the Black Computer Professional Abstractions and Embodiments : new histories of computing and society. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Bix, A. S. (1997). Experiences and Voices of Eugenics Field-Workers: 'Women's Work' in Biology. Social Studies of Science, 27(4), 625–668.

https://doi.org/10.1177/030631297027004003

Cook, S. D. (1996). Technological revolutions and the Gutenberg myth. InternetDreams: Archetypes, Myths, and Metaphors, 67-82.

Light, J. S. (1999). When Computers Were Women. Technology and Culture, 40(3), 455–483. https://doi.org/10.1353/tech.1999.0128

Hellawell, P. (2020). “The best and most practical philosophers”: Seamen and the authority of experience in early modern science. History of Science, 58(1), 28–50. https://doi.org/10.1177/0073275319842425

Artifact1:https://youtu.be/yeikqw0kyqI?si=Zp-ZQ1ttoy-ZE329

Artifact2:https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Gutenberg/images-videos#/media/1/249878/67483

Artifact3:Middle English Texts Series gets a boost from NEH - Medievalists.net

Artifact4:http://www.newworldexploration.com/explorers-tales-blog/life-at-sea-in-the-16th-century

Artifact5:https://youtu.be/bmSoQOebWyM?si=OeJExiWhIaMuq7-W

Artifact6:Found In The Archives: America's Unsettling Early Eugenics Movement: The Picture Show : NPR

Artifact7:Programming the ENIAC: an example of why computer history is hard - CHM

Artifact8:https://computerhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/programing-the-eniac-vonNeumanns2.jpg

Artifact9:National Urban League | History, Definition, & Facts | Britannica

Artifact10:https://computerhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/102804983-03-01-acc.jpg