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The Resource Mother of invention : how good ideas get ignored in an economy built for men, Katrine Marçal ; translated by Alex Fleming

Mother of invention : how good ideas get ignored in an economy built for men, Katrine Marçal ; translated by Alex Fleming

Creator
Author
Translator
Contributor
Summary
The wheel was invented some 5,000 years ago, and the modern suitcase in the mid-nineteenth century, but it wasn't until the 1970s that someone successfully married the two. What was the hold up? For writer and journalist Katrine Marçal, the answer is both shocking and simple: because "real men" carried their bags, no matter how heavy. There were rolling suitcases before the '70s, but they were marketed as a niche product for (the presumably few) women travelling alone, and the wheeled suitcase wasn't "invented" until it was no longer threatening to masculinity. Mother of Invention draws on this example and many others, from electric cars to tech billionaires, to show how gender bias stifles the economy and holds us back. Our traditional notions about men and women have delayed innovations, sometimes by hundreds of years, and have distorted our understanding of our history. While we talk about the Iron Age and the Bronze Age, we might as well talk about the Ceramic Age or the Flax Age, since these technologies were just as important. But inventions associated with women are not considered to be technology in the same way. Marçal takes us on a tour of the global economy, arguing that gendered assumptions dictate which businesses get funding, how we value work, and how we trace human progress."--
Language
  • eng
  • swe
  • eng
Work
Publication
Extent
296 pages :
Note
Translation of Att uppfinna världen from the Swedish
Contents
  • In which we invent the wheel and, after 5,000 years, manage to attach it to a suitcase
  • In which we start the car without breaking out jaw
  • In which bras and girdles take us to the moon
  • In which we learn the difference between horsepower and girl power
  • In which a great invention is made in Västerås, and we go on a whale hunt
  • In which influencers get richer than hackers
  • In which the black swan turns out to have a body
  • In which Serena Williams beats Garry Kasparov
  • In which we forget to ask about Mary
  • In which we decide not to burn the world at the stake
Isbn
9781419758041
Instance
Label
Mother of invention : how good ideas get ignored in an economy built for men
Title
Mother of invention
Title remainder
how good ideas get ignored in an economy built for men
Statement of responsibility
Katrine Marçal ; translated by Alex Fleming
Creator
Contributor
Author
Translator
Subject
Language
  • eng
  • swe
  • eng
Summary
The wheel was invented some 5,000 years ago, and the modern suitcase in the mid-nineteenth century, but it wasn't until the 1970s that someone successfully married the two. What was the hold up? For writer and journalist Katrine Marçal, the answer is both shocking and simple: because "real men" carried their bags, no matter how heavy. There were rolling suitcases before the '70s, but they were marketed as a niche product for (the presumably few) women travelling alone, and the wheeled suitcase wasn't "invented" until it was no longer threatening to masculinity. Mother of Invention draws on this example and many others, from electric cars to tech billionaires, to show how gender bias stifles the economy and holds us back. Our traditional notions about men and women have delayed innovations, sometimes by hundreds of years, and have distorted our understanding of our history. While we talk about the Iron Age and the Bronze Age, we might as well talk about the Ceramic Age or the Flax Age, since these technologies were just as important. But inventions associated with women are not considered to be technology in the same way. Marçal takes us on a tour of the global economy, arguing that gendered assumptions dictate which businesses get funding, how we value work, and how we trace human progress."--
Member of
Assigning source
Provided by publisher
Cataloging source
YDX
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Marçal, Katrine
Dewey number
604.82
Index
no index present
LC call number
T36
LC item number
.M37 2021
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
bibliography
http://library.link/vocab/relatedWorkOrContributorName
Fleming, Alex
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Technology and women
  • Technological innovations
  • Inventions
  • Women inventors
  • Inventors
Target audience
adult
Label
Mother of invention : how good ideas get ignored in an economy built for men, Katrine Marçal ; translated by Alex Fleming
Instantiates
Publication
Copyright
Note
Translation of Att uppfinna världen from the Swedish
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-296)
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
In which we invent the wheel and, after 5,000 years, manage to attach it to a suitcase -- In which we start the car without breaking out jaw -- In which bras and girdles take us to the moon -- In which we learn the difference between horsepower and girl power -- In which a great invention is made in Västerås, and we go on a whale hunt -- In which influencers get richer than hackers -- In which the black swan turns out to have a body -- In which Serena Williams beats Garry Kasparov -- In which we forget to ask about Mary -- In which we decide not to burn the world at the stake
Control code
on1237252763
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
296 pages :
Isbn
9781419758041
Lccn
2021934855
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
System control number
(OCoLC)1237252763
Label
Mother of invention : how good ideas get ignored in an economy built for men, Katrine Marçal ; translated by Alex Fleming
Publication
Copyright
Note
Translation of Att uppfinna världen from the Swedish
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 285-296)
Carrier category
volume
Carrier category code
  • nc
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent
Contents
In which we invent the wheel and, after 5,000 years, manage to attach it to a suitcase -- In which we start the car without breaking out jaw -- In which bras and girdles take us to the moon -- In which we learn the difference between horsepower and girl power -- In which a great invention is made in Västerås, and we go on a whale hunt -- In which influencers get richer than hackers -- In which the black swan turns out to have a body -- In which Serena Williams beats Garry Kasparov -- In which we forget to ask about Mary -- In which we decide not to burn the world at the stake
Control code
on1237252763
Dimensions
24 cm
Extent
296 pages :
Isbn
9781419758041
Lccn
2021934855
Media category
unmediated
Media MARC source
rdamedia
Media type code
  • n
System control number
(OCoLC)1237252763

Subject

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