Page TURNER - Leveling The Playing Field: The Democratization of Technology

From the printing press Johannes Gutenberg invented in the 15 ^th century to a straight-out-of-sci-fi 3D printer that can construct a pretty decent electric guitar, technological advances have the power to transform the world in hugely significant ways – for both good and bad. That’s the overarching topic Rod Scher tackles in Leveling The Playing Field: The Democratization of Technology, his fascinating new book.

The book is about “technologies that ‘trickle down’ to the rest of us,” Scher writes in the introduction. “These technologies – from books to computers to 3D printing – have become part of a common toolkit, one accessible to almost anyone, or at least to many more than had heretofore had access.” If that sounds dry, don’t worry – Scher is a great storyteller, with a gift for weaving in offbeat stories amidst the more detailed passages.

There’s also plenty of breezy humor, making the book’s pages fly by, whether he’s discussing the early hunter-gatherer days of human existence or the proliferation of drone technology in the 21 ^st century. For anyone interested in how technology shapes our lives for good or ill – and that should probably be everyone living today – Leveling The Playing Field offers thought provoking insight into our past, present and future.