I’m going to break one of my blogging rules and write about something that I haven’t actually seen or read yet (I don’t think this is first time I’ve broken that rule, but I could be wrong). I keep running across articles about it, and I heard an interview with the author on NPR.
One of the Kaplan icons for Depth and Complexity that I talk about with my students is “Change over Time.” The new book and PBS mini-series, “How We Got to Now” is a fascinating look through this lens at different facets of the world that is familiar to us.
Cory Doctorow has an excellent review of the book by Steven Johnson here. I immediately ordered it from Amazon, and I am eagerly anticipating it!
You can listen to Linda Wertheimer’s interview with Steven Johnson (or read the transcript) here. I was intrigued by Johnson’s reference to the hummingbird effect as well as his interesting story about how the printing press led to the manipulation of glass in new ways as more people began to read and realized that they needed spectacles!
Not only do the stories covered by Steven Johnson relate “Change Over Time”, but they are examples of the many unintended consequences that result from events and demonstrate the interdependence of the systems in our world.
I am hoping I can use some of the stories with my students, and that they can use them as a model for some of their own research. Storytelling is always a great way to engage the students and help them to learn about history as they consider the implications for the future.
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Forget the kids, I think this sounds like something I’d even like to read for fun! 🙂 I love learning about how they came up with things. I may have to break my Amazon probation again!
I get my book today! I hope I have time to read this weekend!