Man, Machines and Tomorrow by M. W. Thring (review)

270 Books Biology and Culture in Modern Perspective: Readings from Scientific American. Introductions by Joseph G. Jorgensen. W. H. Freeman, San Francisco, 1972. 441 pp., illus. Paper, $5.95. Reviewed by Richard G. COSS* The 41 articles selected for this book cover a wide range of topics, beginning with discussions on the biological aspects governing the origin of man and ending with studies of urban sociology and physical ecology. Although this book is intended primarily for students of anthropology and ecology, there are many interesting points brought out by the various contributors that should interest both artists and designers who are concerned with the technological predicament of mankind. One underlying aspect I sensed is the caution expressed by many of the contributors about man’s biological and social attachment to technological innovations, of which many may have deleterious by-products. Several of the contributors suggest that with the aid of technology, man is simplifying the ecosystem in a maladaptive way, using substitutes that increase the fragility of the system. More insidious, however, is the problem of waste management in industrial countries that leads to the production of mutagenic chemical substances by air and water pollution. Combined with this problem is wholesale destruction of the present floral and faunal ecosystems by cultivation, deforestation, land drainage and migratory blockage. The articles are arranged in three sections: I. Biological Anthropology, 11. Human Prehistory and 111. Cultural Anthropology. In the first section, Newell’s ‘Crisis in the History of Life’ discusses the extinction of a wide range of species-groups in relatively short geological time periods, possibly caused by climatic disruption of the biotope. More recent extinction of large mammals is attributed to upper Paleolithic man. Other articles in this section include new fossil evidence of man’s evolution by Howells and Simons and discussions of natural selection and genetic variability by Crow and by Dobzhansky. Both of the latter contributors suggest that man should try to lower the spontaneous mutation rate caused by environmental factors. But further, technology has relaxed the normal selection pressures, which further enhance the sustenance of genetic defects. The effect of crowded urban environments is examined in Singh’s ‘Urban Monkeys’. This study of Asian macaques living in cities indicates that novel environments increase exploratory behavior and tolerance to new situations. Articles in the second section include Washburn’s ‘Tools and Human Evolution’, a discussion of the possible evolutionary role played by early tool-using Hominids. Washburn makes an important point that the behavioral changes brought about by successful tool-making cultures improved the selection toward greater intelligence. Other articles in this section are concerned with more traditional studies of man’s prehistory and the development of small permanent settlements and towns from earlier Neolithic sites. Adams presents a hypothesis in ‘The Origin of Cities’ that suggests that the aiversity of human experience provided by the urban environment, such as religious and craft activity, rather than available food surpluses accounts for the rapid growth and stability of ancient cities. In examining one particular city, Millon presents evidence that TeotihuacBn, Mexico’s largest pre-Columbian city, has structural features not unlike those of classical cities. Examples of design parallelism should interest the architect because they infer natural human preferences. The third section emphasizes both the traditional concerns of cultural anthropology and new areas of interest in contemporary societies. Rappaport’s ‘The Flow of Energy in an Agricultural Society’ examines the careful resource management of a New Guinean tribe and compares it with modern agricultural societies, which have simplified their energy sources to the point where they are subject to vast and potentially dangerous political and economic changes’ Cook‘s ‘The Flow of Energy in an Industrial Society’. ______ *I9157 Delano St., Reseda, CA 91335, U S A . further elaborates on the energy consumption of technological societies with high waste-energy outputs. He states that 30 per cent of the world‘s population consumes 80 per cent of the world‘s energy with no abatement in sight, because as more energy is used, dependence increases proportionally. Man, Machines and Tomorrow. M. W. Thring. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, 1973. 127 pp., illus. E2.25. Reviewed by R. S. Hartenberg* This is an engaging...