The Triumph of Technology: The BBC Reith Lectures 2005

The Triumph of Technology is taken from Lord Alec Broers 2005 BBC Reith Lectures on the role and importance of technology in our lives. The lectures discuss the way technology has shaped life since the beginnings of civilization, explaining how we owe to technologists most of what drives our world today, how technologies develop, and the excitement of the modern creative process. There are some who believe that technology\'s future development should be controlled, and that it may already have gone too far, especially in areas such as the use of energy - something which has the potential to permanently harm our environment. Alec Broers argues that although we need to understand such dangers, and use technology wisely, it can improve our lives - that we must look to technology to solve many of the problems that threaten our planet. Included here are the complete lectures plus a new introduction and conclusion.

• A succinct and accessible summary of the case for technology, including examples such as the development of the laser, the valve, and nanotechnology • Taken from the prestigious BBC Reith Lectures series first delivered by Bertrand Russell in 1948 and since presented by distinguished thinkers including Robert Oppenheimer, John Kenneth Galbraith and Onora O\'Neill. • Lord Broers is one of the most distinguished and best-known engineers of our age, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Chairman of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee.

Introduction; Lecture 1: The Triumph of Technology; Lecture 2: Collaboration; Lecture 3: Managing Innovation; Lecture 4: Nanotechnology and Nanoscience; Lecture 5: Risk and Responsibility; By way of conclusion.

\'Lord Broers\' lectures illustrated his unwavering passion for technology. He has opened up the discussion; the focus should now be on changing attitudes towards technology and the engineering profession. It\'s about the present and the future. Experience and experimentation, not repetition and rigid rules.\'

– James Dyson, inventor and engineer

\'Alec Broers\' Reith Lectures are masterful. He has addressed critical issues in a considered and accessible way. They deserve to be read by \'movers and shakers\' and the general public alike.\'

– Tom Everhart, President Emeritus of Caltech

\'… the emergence of a successful technological sector where innovators, whether foreign-born or home-bred, are regarded as heroes and role-models rather than geeks and nerds would make a huge contribution to persuading succeeding generations that an appreciation of science and technology is central to a well-balanced education and, as Lord Broers would have it: \'worthy of embrace\'.\'

– Alan Cane, The Financial Times